Without a secured supply of imported gas, the Ukrainian gas transmission system would have become unable to function adequately already in the winter of 2014-2015, even with the reserves accumulated by that point. This would have caused an infrastructure collapse during the cold season, with pipes bursting across the country – as happened in Alchevsk in 2006 – and people freezing in their homes without central heating or gas-fueled individual heating systems.\r \r The ability to respond to these heating cut-offs and possible infrastructure breakdowns would have been limited. Most likely, the situation would have escalated to the level of a veritable humanitarian crisis and possibly a technogenic disaster.\r \r \r \r Photo: Depositphotos_kaninstudio