Ukraine agrees cheaper short-term gas deal with Russia

Ukraine has signed a new short-term agreement to buy gas from Russia at a lower price, despite the ongoing conflict in the east of the country.

Ukraine will pay $248 per thousand cubic metres over the next three months down from the $329 it had been paying in the first quarter of this year.
Talks will continue to find a permanent solution to the long-running pricing dispute.
Ukraine said it would still be required to pre-pay Russia for its gas supplies.
Kiev accuses Moscow of supporting separatists rebels in eastern Ukraine in a conflict that began in November 2013 and has left the country in a precarious economic situation.
However Ukraine's energy minister, Volodymyr Demchyshyn said Ukraine's state gas company, Naftogaz, had been able to reach a short term agreement with Russian gas giant, Gazprom.
Previously Russia has threatened to cut off Ukraine's energy supplies over unmet bills.