Russian Federation resumes gas deliveries to Ukraine

Ukraine halted all natural gas purchases from Gazprom last July after the parties failed to agree on the terms of gas deliveries for the third quarter of 2015.

Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said his company had reopened the pipelines to Ukraine after receiving a prepayment of $234 million (205.3 million euros) for the month of October, out of an expected $500 million. One standoff in 2009 caused serious disruptions in shipments European Union countries in the dead of winter. “We hope that next year it will be much easier for us to pass the winter heating season and we will be able to pass it without Russian gas”, the minister said.

“At 10:00 this morning [07:00 GMT], Gazprom began deliveries of gas to Ukraine”.

The European Commission has pledged at least $500 million of aid to Ukraine for the gas supplies.

Kiev will pay a reduced price of $232 per 1,000 cubic meters during the period covered by the agreement (October 2015 – to March 2016).

Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014 and Moscow’s backing of rebels waging a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine have soured bilateral relations. Ukraine has since been trying to cut its dependence on Russian Federation gas, buying shipments from European nations which had bought it from Russian Federation at a lower price.