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Donetsk gas company says Kiev has not resumed gas supplies

Russian gas is being supplied to the Donetsk republic via two directions - through the Luhansk region and the city of Novoazovsk

MOSCOW, February 20. /TASS/. Ukraine has not so far resumed gas supplies to the territory of the self-proclaimed Donetsk republic, the head of a Donetsk gas company, Donbasstransgaz, said on Friday.

The Donetsk republic currently uses the gas that Russia started delivering there on Thursday in the amount of 12 million cubic meters per day, the Donetsk news agency quoted Sergey Gorbunov.

Both Luhansk and Donetsk said on Thursday Ukraine had fully stopped gas supplies to the self-proclaimed republics.

Ukraine’s Naftogaz energy giant explained this by "critical damages of the gas transportation infrastructure as a result of armed actions."

Therefore, the Donetsk republic suspended gas payments to Kiev, DPR parliament speaker Andrey Purgin said on Friday.

"We have now suspended payments for resettlements. We’ll see whether to continue paying Ukraine or to pay Russia," he said.

Currently, the Russian gas is being supplied to the Donetsk republic via two directions - through the Luhansk region and the city of Novoazovsk.

"Russia started natural gas supplies just in time. If it had not done this, we would have been forced to carry out emergency shutdowns this morning," Purgin said.

Ukraine’s emergency situations service earlier on Friday said gas supplies to five villages, home to around 12,000 consumers, partly resumed and repair works were underway after a gas pipeline had been damaged in the military operation zone.