The European Union resumed efforts on Friday night to secure the restoration of Russian gas shipments via Ukraine to the EU after hopes of an early settlement to the crisis faded, leaving millions of consumers facing a fifth day of shortages.

With the winter turning bitterly cold across much of Europe, the EU failed to secure backing from Moscow and Kiev for the deployment of international observers to monitor the pipeline. While both Ukraine and Russia have agreed to the monitoring plan in principle, they remained divided over details including the role of Russian monitors in Ukraine and possible Ukrainian monitors in Russia.