Russian Gazprom stops charging Ukraine for gas supplies to separatist DPR and LPR
At the 2018 Ukrainian Energy Forum in Kyiv, Yuriy Vitrenko, Chief Commercial Officer of Naftogaz Ukraine, has announced that Russian conglomerate Gazprom has stopped invoicing Naftogaz Ukraine for gas supplies sent to self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR) , Interfax reported.
According to Vitrenko, Gazprom did not bill Naftogaz for the entire period of 2017, nor the beginning of 2018.
Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller said that between January 2015 and June 2017, the company delivered $1.196 billion in gas to the DPR and LPR. Deliveries were made on orders from Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev through the Platovo and Prokhorovka gas measuring stations. The government stressed that the Gazprom supplies are a form of humanitarian aid.
Ukrainian Naftogaz considers the deliveries to be illegal and refuses to pay for them. The company noted that Naftogaz does not have access to the gas measuring stations. The company also stressed that they have not purchased gas from Gazprom since November 2015, and that prior to that time bought its gas only through GiS Ukraine LLC, which is located on Ukrainian-controlled territory.