Exclusive - Ukraine prime minister says Russians 'want us to freeze'

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk talks with aides before an interview on the sidelines of the 69th United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, September 25, 2014. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The prime minister of the Kiev government accused Russia on Thursday of attempting to freeze Ukraine in the coming winter by using natural gas as a weapon to subjugate the former Soviet Republic.

"They want us to freeze. This is the aim and this is another trump card in Russian hands. So, except military offence, except military operation against Ukraine, they have another trump card, which is energy," Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk said in an interview on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.