If Ukraine does not pay Gazprom for the Donbass, gas to Kyiv will be cut off on Saturday
Moscow - Kyiv, February 26 (PolitNavigator, Mikhail Stamm) - Gazprom demanded that Naftogaz of Ukraine officially confirm statements about refusing to prepay for gas as long as Russia supplies fuel to the Donbass. Moscow believes that direct supplies to the DPR and LPR comply with the contract with Naftogaz and if Kyiv does not pay for them, supplies to Ukraine will stop. If the parties implement their threats, Ukraine may be left without gas from the Russian Federation as early as Saturday.
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Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller yesterday sent a letter to Naftogaz Ukrainy CEO Andriy Kobolev demanding confirmation that a new tranche of prepayment for Russian gas is only possible if Gazprom stops deliveries to Donbass, Interfax reported, and Kommersant sources confirmed.
In his letter, Miller indicates that supplies through Prokhorovka and Platovo comply with the contract with Naftogaz. The document also states that Gazprom will not supply gas to Ukraine without prepayment. According to the Russian monopoly, at current supply volumes, the previously prepaid volume will be enough for approximately three days - until Saturday.
Let us recall that earlier in Kyiv they stated that they were not going to pay for gas supplied to Donetsk and Lugansk, citing the fact that Naftogaz could not check whether gas was supplied or not.
If Ukraine doesn't pay Gazprom for Donbass, Kyiv's gas will be cut off as early as Saturday.