Doing demand calculations: Naftogaz
Ukraine tots up gas needs
Ukraine will import about 7 billion to 8 billion cubic metres of Russian gas in the fourth quarter of this year, with 1 Bcm to 2 Bcm of that pencilled in for this month, according to reports.
The volumes are lower than the 14 Bcm that some officials have said Ukraine should import to meet a total declared by Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko of about 30 Bcm for the year.
Other officials have said Ukraine's needs amount to only 5 Bcm in the fourth quarter.
"By the end of the year, we think it (gas imports) will be somewhere between 7 (Bcm) to 8 Bcm," Reuters quoted deputy chief executive of Naftogaz, Yaroslav Marchyu, as telling reporters.
Disputes over gas supplies, volumes and prices between Ukraine and Russia have previously led to disruptions in the flow of gas to Europe.
The European Union watches the exchanges between Kiev and Moscow closely, lest another row erupts.
After a week-long stand-off in January, Ukraine signed a new deal in which Kiev promised to buy 40 Bcm of gas this year.
Since then Tymoshenko and most officials in Moscow have said Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom will not impose penalties for buying less than stated.
She also suggested Ukraine would only need to buy 25 Bcm to 27 Bcm next year, almost half the amount promised at about 52 Bcm.
Gazprom chief executive Alexei Miller told Russian news agency Interfax that the terms of the contract next year should be fulfilled.