Gazprom Resumes Gas Supplies To Ukraine

Russian natural gas is again flowing to Ukraine.

Gazprom said gas shipments had restarted early on October 12 after the Russian gas giant received $234 million in prepayments from Kyiv.

Gazprom halted gas supplies to Ukraine earlier in the year after a breakdown on pricing talks.

A deal, however, was reached last month with the help of the European Union, ensuring Ukraine will receive Russian gas for six months through March 2016.

On October 9, Gazprom said that Ukraine had requested 2 billion cubic meters of gas for October.

Past gas disputes between Russia and Ukraine have led to cutoffs of supply. One standoff in 2009 caused serious disruptions in shipments EU countries in the dead of winter.

Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014 and Moscow's backing of rebels waging a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine have soured bilateral relations.

Based on reporting by AFP, AP, and Interfax