MOSCOW, December 8. /TASS/. Russia’s ministry of energy says he thinks Ukraine will need four billion cubic meters of natural gas to live through the winter, Minister Alexander Novak said on Monday.

He said this figure was voiced by the Ukrainian side at the tripartite gas talks in Brussels in the autumn. He also said Ukraine’s making an advance payment for one billion cubic meters of Russian gas on December 5 was a positive factor to ensure stable gas supplies to Europe.