Ukraine chooses cheaper EU gas over costly Russian price

KYIV

AFP photo

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk has said Kyiv can buy gas from the European Union at a cheaper rate than Russia has offered, adding that the average price of gas from the EU stands at about $200, as reported by Sputnik on Jan. 10. 

“We have stopped buying gas from the Russian Federation. On Jan. 1 they billed us at a price of $212 per 1,000 cubic meters. We are not buying gas from Russia because we buy it from the European Union cheaper than Russia has offered. The average price of gas from the EU stands at about $200,” Yatsenyuk said in a video address, as quoted by Sputnik News. 

In late November 2015, Yatsenyuk announced the Ukraine government had instructed the country’s Naftogaz to halt all future purchases of Russian gas, saying the pricing being offered by the country’s European partners was much lower than that offered by Moscow.

“Ukraine has about 13 billion cubic meters [bcm] of gas, which is 2.3 billion more than during this period of 2015. This will be enough for the heating season,” he added.