EXPLAINER: Europe lacks natural gas. Is it Russia's fault?

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Europe is short of natural gas — dangerously short. A cold winter could mean a severe crunch, and utility bills are headed higher, burdening ordinary people and weighing on the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has promised to help fill European gas storages as energy prices soar — but supply shortages and political tensions have continued to rattle energy markets, keeping prices high. That's pinched businesses and forced them to pass along costs to customers already facing higher bills at home.

Moscow has been accused of using the volatile situation to push for a quick launch of a newly built Russian pipeline under the Baltic Sea: Nord Stream 2, which is awaiting German regulators’ approval and has been criticized by Ukraine, the U.S. and others.

With Europe dependent on imported gas and Russia supplying 40% or more of those imports, Putin has leverage. He's said the new pipeline already is filled with gas and could help increase supplies “the day after” it's approved.

Here are important factors behind the gas crisis:

HOW DID EUROPE GET INTO THIS MESS?

Multiple reasons. One was a cold winter that drained gas reserves, which are used to generate electrical power and typically replenished in summer. That didn't happen this year.

Hot weather drained more gas than usual through demand for air conditioning. Less wind meant less renewable electricity, leading generators to reach for gas fuel. Limited supplies of liquid natural gas, an expensive option that can be delivered by ship instead of pipeline, were snapped up by customers in Asia.

On top of that, Europe for years has pushed for day-to-day spot pricing, instead of long-term contracts. Russian-controlled gas giant Gazprom has fulfilled those...