< h4><strong>The reform of the gas system in Ukraine is crucial for the country’s stability. It is also important for Poland that the slowdown of reforms in Kyiv ends with the success of the reformers.</strong> <!--more--></h4> The war in Ukraine began in March 2014 when Russia illegally annexed the Crimean Peninsula. With a few exceptions, international society did not accept the operation, which was followed by Russia’s offensive in eastern Ukraine. While the situation at the front has calmed down, Ukrainian soldiers attacked by Russian forces keep dying and Kyiv still does not control its eastern border. Despite the difficult political and military situation, Ukraine has undertaken many reforms aimed at facilitating its development. One of them is the reform of the gas sector in line with the provisions of the European Union’s third energy package. Ukraine joined the Energy Union, which is the foreign dimension of the EU’s energy policy, and the government in Kyiv declared its intention to implement relevant reforms. On its part, Brussels promised the necessary political, expert and financial support. In April 2015, Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada voted in a law on gas market. One of its elements was demonopolisation of the sector through the division of the state-held Naftogaz into extractive, transmission and distribution companies. It has been an element of ownership unbundling, guaranteeing the development of liberal gas market in accordance with the provisions of the third package. Subsidies to gas bills for households and the public sector, which were a significant burden to Ukraine’s struggling budget, are meant to be gradually reduced. Read more on New Eastern Europe - <a href="http://www.neweasterneurope.eu/articles-and-commentary/2148-russia-can-win-in-ukraine-without-a-single-shot">Russia can win in Ukraine without a single shot</a>