Ukraine's non-payments for gas are fraught with the cessation of fuel supplies by Gazprom. This was stated by the chairman of the board of the gas monopoly, Alexey Miller, Interfax reports . “Either Ukraine pays off its debt, or there is a risk of returning to the situation in 2009,” noted the head of Gazprom.

Earlier on March 7, Miller said that Naftogaz of Ukraine had not paid for gas supplies in February, and its debt, taking into account the discount received at the end of last year, reached $1.89 billion. The payment deadline for February deliveries expired today.

On March 4, Gazprom estimated the total debt of the Ukrainian side for supplies of Russian fuel at $1.529 billion, but predicted that it could rise sharply in the coming days, since Ukraine reported that it would not be able to pay in full for February.

Related materials:

Gas to capacity, and then we'll see Moscow made unprecedented concessions to Kiev December 17, 2013

Due to growing debt, the gas monopoly decided to cancel the gas discount for Ukraine starting in April. After the discount, Naftogaz purchased Russian fuel at $268.5 per thousand cubic meters, although previously it paid more than $400.

At the beginning of 2009, Gazprom stopped supplying gas first to Ukrainian consumers, and then to Europe in general, as Ukraine blocked transit gas pipelines. The resumption of supplies occurred only two weeks after the prime ministers of Russia and Ukraine Vladimir Putin and Yulia Tymoshenko signed an agreement on gas and transit prices.

The conclusion of the agreement became the main point of accusation during the trial of Tymoshenko in 2011. She was sentenced to 7 years in prison for forcing Naftogaz management to sign a contract. The former prime minister was released after President Viktor Yanukovych was removed from power in February 2014.

Miller warned Kyiv about a new gas cutoff for debts