Donetsk, Luhansk Have Not Signed Gas Delivery Deal With Russia So Far

Russia and the self-proclaimed people's republics have not signed contracts on gas deliveries to compensate the dangerous gas shortage in Donbas.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The self-proclaimed people’s republics of Donetsk and Luhansk (DPR and LPR) have not signed agreements with Russia on gas deliveries to compensate for supplies cut by Kiev on Wednesday night, top officials told RIA Novosti Thursday.

LPR Prime Minister Gennady Tsyplakov said that “negotiations till continue at the moment, details of delivery are currently being studied.”

“We have the required infrastructure, our gas facilities are ready to accept gas. As soon as the gas starts flowing, we will inform you,” he said.

The DPR parliament speaker, Andrei Purgin, also confirmed that “no agreement on Russian [gas] has been reached so far.”

Ukraine’s Naftogaz stated earlier on Thursday that the deliveries to Donbas were stopped because the gas transporting infrastructure was critically damaged during hostilities.

According to Purgin, however, Kiev was long planning to cut off gas deliveries to the region.

DPR and LPR authorities say that Donbas has enough gas supplies to last only until Thursday night.

The temperature in the region is currently about minus 5 degrees Celsius (25 degrees Fahrenheit).

Earlier on Thursday Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said during a governmental meeting that he had instructed Russia’s Energy Ministry and the gas giant Gazprom to come up with proposals on delivering fuel to eastern Ukraine.