Valdas Adamkus, the Lithuanian president, on Thursday urged the west to respond to Russia’s heavy-handed tactics in the ongoing gas dispute by throwing open the door to Ukrainian membership in the European Union, Nato and the trans-Atlantic alliance.

In an interview with the FT, Mr Adamkus accused Moscow of playing politics in the gas trade to further ambitions of re-establishing itself as the region’s “superpower” and advised Brussels to react with strong political backing for Ukraine’s sovereignty.