Ukraine has stored 14 billion cubic meters of natural gas in its underground facilities, however the reserves must be increased by at least 1 billion cubic meters of gas until the beginning of the heating season, although it would be better to have a total of up to 19 billion cubic meters of gas, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk has said.

"Here's our task on gas: now we have 14 billion [cubic meters], we need at least 15 [billion]. We must reach 19 [billion]," he said at the meeting of the government while, as the prime minister put it, he lectured Energy and Coal Industry Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Demchyshyn for a long and puzzling report.

Yatseniuk also said that Ukraine needs to sign a trilateral protocol with Russia and the EU on supplies of Russian gas for the winter, as well as the agreement between Naftogaz and Gazprom, and find an additional $1 billion for gas purchases.

Yatseniuk also corrected Demchyshyn by saying that gas supplies were diversified instead of depoliticized.

"As Russia’s Gazprom has been and remains a political organization," Yatseniuk said..

In turn, Demchyshyn said that the European partners of Ukraine expect Kyiv to take active steps to increase the levy for gas realization and to continue the search for funds within the country to secure purchases.