Accord signed in Russia gas row

Bulgarians protest about the gas crisis outside Ukraine's embassy in Sofia

Russia and European Union officials have signed a deal, setting out how they will monitor Russian gas flowing to Europe through Ukraine.

Progress on the stumbling block follows talks between Russian PM Vladimir Putin and Czech PM Mirek Topolanek, representing the EU.

Hundreds of thousands of European homes have no heating after gas shipments via Ukraine were halted on Wednesday.

The deal must still be signed by Ukraine to come into force.

Even if a deal goes through, the affected countries are unlikely to have gas before Monday at the earliest.

Mr Putin says the written deal is necessary to control the flow of gas to Europe.

Russia has accused Ukraine of stealing Russian gas destined for Europe, a claim which Ukraine has denied.

Bitter dispute

The two countries have been locked in a bitter contractual dispute over gas prices and transit fees.

Although both countries had guaranteed that transit supplies to Europe would be unaffected, they were cut off amid mutual accusations between Kiev and Moscow.

More than 15 countries across central Europe have been hit by the shutdown of Russian supplies.

Serbia and Bosnia-Hercegovina are among the worst hit as many homes rely on heating stations that only run on gas.