They seem to conveniently omit that the market price of gas in europe is around $220, exactly what the Russians are asking for. Should they continue to subsidize a non-friendly (and, by the way, corrupt) government in Ukraine ? I'm not seeing anything wrong here with the Russians charging market prices, for one, and two, the Ukrainians knew that the price increase was coming for about 2 years now and are balking at it. I feel very little sympathy for them.
Like you I like customer-salesman logic very much. But it doesn't work in monopolistic environment. And pity it is not applied by neoKGB to a friedly regime of Belarus. Russia's cards are weak since 80% of EU exports are going trough the territory of Ukraine. Both parties need to find a satisfactory solution. Blackmail won't help. To Putie's regret USSR is over...