Ukraine`s prime minister has proclaimed her country the winner in the two-week gas dispute with Russia even though higher gas prices are going to badly hurt the Ukrainian economy, according to AP via Yahoo! News.

Yulia Tymoshenko says at Wednesday`s Cabinet session that Ukraine has won "great conditions" under a gas deal that ended Russia`s natural gas cutoff to European countries.

Monday`s deal doubled the price Ukraine has to pay for Russian gas in the first quarter. Gas prices are expected to fall later this year, but Ukraine is still expected to pay significantly more this year for Russian gas than it did in 2008.

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Ukraine was struggling to pay for Russian gas even at last year`s price as it faced a currency collapse, falling exports and a shaken banking sector.