Naftogaz Ukrainy has received all necessary documents from Gazprom and is ready to begin prepayment and pumping Russian gas as soon as the trilateral protocol on Russian gas supplies between Ukraine, Russia and the EU is signed, Energy and Coal Industry Minister Volodymyr Demchyshyn said.

"We have gathered together $500 million on Naftogaz's account at Oschadbank," Demchyshyn said at a press conference in Kyiv on Monday, adding that the money was amassed from internal reserves.

Commenting on the price of the gas – $232 per 1,000 cubic meters – Demchyshyn said it was agreed for the fourth quarter, while the winter package of agreements applied to the entire heating season. Unlike previous agreements, the price also includes the calorific-value surcharge, which has amounted to about $7 per 1,000 cubic meters in recent times.

"The price corresponds to the market: the price at the European hubs minus transit costs," Demchyshyn said.

Despite the agreement with Russia on the winter package, Ukraine will continue reverse imports of gas from Europe.

Ukraine's gas consumption forecast in 2015 remains at 43 billion cubic meters, he said.