MOSCOW, Dec. 5 (UPI) -- Ukraine has enough natural gas to last four months should Russia decide to cut supplies as punishment for Ukraine's failure to pay its debt, Russian media say.
Naftogaz, the state-owned Ukrainian oil and gas firm, is $2 billion in debt and lacks the funds to cover the first installment of $550 million, the Russian daily newspaper Kommersant reported Friday.
Ukraine, however, has a four-month supply of gas held in underground storage facilities. Kommersant said Ukraine has around 1 trillion cubic feet of gas stored. Its annual consumption is around 2.6 trillion.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said he would prefer court pressure to force Kiev to meet its debt obligations, but Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Thursday supply cuts may be necessary.
Russian energy officials said Ukraine paid only $269 million for September supplies and paid nothing for its supplies for October.
Ukraine protested that Russia was asking for payments for unused supplies.
Around 80 percent of the Russian natural gas slated for European markets travels through Ukraine. Supply cuts in Ukraine in 2006 disrupted supplies to Europe.
