As Ukraine is broke and needs money to pay for gas for the upcoming winter, European taxpayers will have to cover the bill, the German newspaper predicted.
Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak and European Commission Vice President on Energy Union Maros Sefcovic met in Vienna late last week. The sides agreed that Brussels will pay €500 million for Kiev's gas supply.
"Ukraine urgently needs to fill its gas storages to survive the winter," DWN said, adding that the €500 million only covered half of the bill and soon Brussels will need another half a million to pay Ukraine's gas bill.
Earlier this week, Ukraine's Deputy Energy Minister Olexandr Svetelik said that Kiev was satisfied with the conditions for Russian gas supplies, which it suspended for the period July-September, despite Moscow's discount proposal. Reverse flows from Slovakia, Hungary and Poland currently supply Ukraine's gas needs.
Kiev expects to receive a foreign loan for winter gas supplies by late October, which Novak had said would help finance 2 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Ukraine's underground storage facilities this and next month.
