Passing gas

I'm sure it is not funny for those suffering the cold in eastern Europe, but the Russia/Ukraine gas dance seems to want to go on forever (or until summer), while the EU looks on in impotence.

The NYT, wedded to the politics of 'Russia bad' finds it difficult to report the on the whole snafu without pointing out the games that the Ukrainians have been playing, including sneaking paragraphs into the EU brokered agreement, and now not allowing EU monitors on the scene as agreed. Still, the above linked article does the best it can with the he said/she said motif.

Question, are Ukraine's actions helping or hindering their quest for admission into NATO? It's hard not to think that global political issues are pulling some strings here.