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Developments in eastern Ukraine

Ukraine agrees with Russia not to pay for electricity supplied to militia-held territories

Ukraine would be able to save about 300 million hryvnias (more than $14.3 million) monthly if it doesn't pay for the electricity which the militia-held territories in Donbas are receiving from Russia

© ITAR-TASS Archive/Denis Rusinov

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Kiev stops paying for energy which Russia supplies to Donbas region on April 10

KIEV, July 7 /TASS/. Ukraine’s Minister of Energy and Coal Mining Industry Volodymyr Demchyshyn has said that his ministry has agreed with Russia to exclude payments for Russian electric energy supplies to the militia-held territories of the Donbas region from mutual settlements.

Demchyshyn told the ministry’s board meeting on Tuesday that Ukraine would be able to save about 300 million hryvnias (more than $14.3 million) monthly if it did not pay for the electricity which the militia-held territories in Donbas are receiving from Russia.

Demchyshyn did not clarify where and when those talks had been held. The Russian Energy Ministry has not yet made any comments.

In April this year, Ukraine refused to pay for the electric energy, which Russia supplies to the Donbas regions that are not under the Ukrainian government control. That was the main reason why the sides had been unable to agree on the final volumes of deliveries. Russia insisted on sending about 262.8 million kWh to Ukraine in April while Ukraine agreed to consider only 142.8 million kWh to be commercial import.

Prior to that, Ukraine had banned the purchase or sale of electric energy between Ukraine and the militia-held territories of the Donbas region. The two local energy companies, LEO and DTEK Donetskoblenergo, were offered to provide the local population with electricity on their own. Before that, the Ukrainian regions had regularly received 800-900 million hryvnias (about $40 million) worth of electric energy from Ukraine.

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