Russians support Kremlin in gas row with Ukraine

By James Kilner

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russians on the snowy streets of Moscow on Thursday were in no doubt who was to blame for choking off Europe's gas supplies: Ukraine's pro-Western leaders.

"They are gas thieves," said 24-year-old Olga, an employee with a state company, as she picked her way across an ice-covered street a short walk from the Kremlin.

The Kremlin and Russian gas firm Gazprom have said they had no choice but to cut gas supply to Ukraine -- which then flows to Europe -- because Kiev refused to agree a new supply contract.

In Europe, where many countries have been left without fuel for heating in the middle of winter, the gas row has revived memories of a similar conflict three years ago when Russia was accused of using gas as a weapon to bully its pro-Western neighbours.

But in Russia, where public opinion is coloured by television reports which frequently describe Ukraine's leaders as Western puppets, most people take a different view.

An Internet poll conducted by the Ekho Moskvy radio station on Thursday showed 56.6 percent of those who voted were against Russia re-opening gas supplies to Ukraine.

Sergei Tshebakov held Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko responsible for starting the row.

"Yushchenko works for the United States," said the 40-year-old, who was walking with his wife and two children. "He doesn't want to pay and he wants to damage Russia by making the European Union consider other energy suppliers."