Vienna, Austria » The Russia-Ukraine natural gas dispute hit Europe with the force of a winter storm Tuesday, cutting or limiting supplies to at least a dozen nations. Tens of thousands of people were left without heat and governments scrambled to find alternate energy sources.

Shocked by how fast the shortages were spreading, the European Union demanded a quick end to the quarrel -- a sharp turnaround from their earlier stance, when officials had downplayed the conflict between Moscow and Kiev as primarily a business matter.

But by Tuesday evening, gauges on delivery pipelines to seven countries -- including some depending totally on Russian gas -- pointed toward zero and an increasing number of other nations reported significant reductions.

The Ukrainian gas company Naftogaz said Russia's gas giant Gazprom had sharply reduced its shipments to Europe through pipelines crossing Ukraine, triggering the cuts. Gazprom in turn accused Ukraine of shutting three of four transit pipelines.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin ordered Gazprom to continue a 15 percent cut in daily shipments through Ukraine. He said Ukraine was stealing gas from Western consumers "because they are the ones who bought these goods and paid for them."

Ukraine has acknowledged diverting some of the gas, but says it has the right to use it to run compressors at pumping stations along the pipeline network.

Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Croatia, Serbia and Turkey all reported a halt in gas shipments, while France, Germany, Austria, Poland and Hungary reported substantial drops in supplies from Russia.

Some governments and utilities sought to reassure the public, saying well-stocked storage facilities would allow them to weather the storm.

Still, the growing fallout from the dispute evoked memories of the 2006 Gazprom-Ukraine gas war -- and starkly reflected once again the continent's energy dependence on Moscow.