Ukraine to boost gas imports in July: Tymoshenko

(KIEV) - Ukraine will boost its imports of Russian gas in July, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said, though Kiev is struggling to pay its current gas bill amid the global slowdown.

"This month we must pay 250 million dollars. The next, we must pay 1 billion dollars," news agency Interfax quoted Tymochenko as saying in a meeting with regional governors.

The price Ukraine pays for gas under its contract with Russia fell to 202 dollars (145 euros) per 1000 cubic metres in the second quarter of 2009 from 270 dollars (194 euros) for the first three months of this year.

This means Tymoshenko's comments indicate its gas imports could jump to 5 billion cubic metres in July compared with 0.94 billion cubic metres this June, according to Interfax.

Hard hit by the financial crisis, Ukraine was barely able to scrape together enough funds to pay last month's gas bill.

Though Kiev decreased imports in anticipation of lower gas prices in the second quarter, it was forced to beg for a 4.2-billion-dollar loan from Europe to meet its obligations to Russian gas export monopoly Gazrpom.

As Kiev drains its storage networks to cut imports of Russian gas, EU states are alert for signs of a repeat of last winter's gas crisis, when Russia cut the gas flow to Europe via Ukraine's critical pipeline system.

The European Commission warned Thursday of a possible new gas shortage as soon as this summer and called for an investigation into whether it could drag on into winter.

"The commission urged both parties, Gazprom and (Ukraine's) Naftogaz, to reach a stable and long-term arrangement to secure transit towards the EU," the Commission said.