Russia Sent Over 300Mln Cubic Meters of Gas to Donbass Since Mid- February

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russia has supplied more than 300 million cubic meters of natural gas to the two self-proclaimed regions in eastern Ukraine since mid-February, Energy minister Alexander Novak said Friday.

Russia started direct gas supplies to the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics on February 19 as Kiev refused to deliver gas to the two contested regions in eastern Ukraine citing the ongoing military conflict with Donbas and related economic and security risks.

Novak and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Demchyshyn agreed that the gas supplied by Russian energy giant Gazprom to Donbas will be taken outside of the existing gas agreements with Ukraine earlier this month, and will become subject of separate talks.

Demchyshyn insisted that gas deliveries to Donbas be carried out by Ukraine's Naftogaz company rather than by entities based on territories not controlled by Kiev. He also added that Naftogaz is still delivering natural gas to the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine.

Russian gas deliveries into Ukraine are currently being carried out under the EU-mediated "winter package" deal, requiring advance payments from Naftogaz at discounts of $100 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas. The deal expires on April 1, 2015.