Ukraine not to pay for gas Russia delivered to occupied Donbas

"The Stockholm Arbitration indicated that Naftogaz should not pay for the volumes of gas that were delivered to the temporarily occupied territories of Luhansk and Donetsk regions ... Future supplies to these territories will not affect Naftogaz until the occupation of the territories in the east of Ukraine ceases. In any case, such supplies will not be included in the annual contract volumes," the report said.

Read alsoNaftogaz wins gas sales arbitration case against Gazprom on all issues in disputeAs UNIAN reported earlier, the state of Ukraine, in the person of Naftogaz, has sued Russia's Gazprom in the Stockholm Arbitration Court over the two contracts: on the transit of Russian gas to the EU via Ukraine and on purchase and sale of Russian gas by Ukraine.

According to Naftogaz, as of May 29, 2017, the amount of Naftogaz's claims against Gazprom under the contract for the purchase of gas is $30.3 billion, and on the part of Gazprom to Naftogaz it is $47.1 billion.

On May 31, the Stockholm arbitration granted the Ukrainian company’s demand to review the price in the gas purchase contract signed with Gazprom in 2009 for gas purchases starting 2014, canceled Ukraine's commitment to buy 52 billion cubic meters of gas annually or pay its cost (the "take or pay" principle), and also completely canceled Gazprom’s ban on gas re-exports.

Read alsoDecision by Stockholm Arbitration saves Ukraine from paying $56 bln to Gazprom - NaftogazOn December 22, Naftogaz received a copy of the final arbitration award, which included the parties’ claims. According to the company, the Arbitration Chamber satisfied all the demands of the Ukrainian side: reduced by 27.4% (to $352 per 1,000 cubic meters) the price of gas that had been purchased from Gazprom in the second quarter of 2014; rejected the demands of the Russian side related to the "take or pay" principle to the tune of $56 billion; and reduced from 52 billion to 5 billion cubic meters per year the volume of gas that Naftogaz is obliged to buy from Gazprom.

Naftogaz estimated the overall positive effect of the arbitration award at $75 billion.