Russia's Gazprom has reduced gas transit through Ukraine from about 180 million cubic meters per day at the end of December to about 130 million cubic meters per day early January, Head of Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine LLC (GTSOU) Serhiy Makogon has said.

"The Ukrainian gas transmission system operator is ready to provide a larger volume of transit with the appropriate requests from Gazprom," he wrote on Facebook on Wednesday morning.

As reported, the transit contract concluded in 2009 between Naftogaz Ukrainy and Gazprom expired on the morning of January 1, 2020. The transit contract between the companies for the organization of transportation, a transport agreement between Naftogaz and GTSOU, as well as an inter-operator agreement between GTSOU and Gazprom were signed on December 30, 2019.

The contract provides for the transit of at least 65 billion cubic meters of Russian gas in 2020, which is 178 million cubic meters per day. In 2021-2024, transit should amount to 40 billion cubic meters. Payment for the indicated volumes is guaranteed even if the smaller amount of gas is pumped through the Ukrainian GTS.