The Ukrainian Energy and Coal Ministry expects the price of Russian gas that it imports to fall at least 5% in Q1 2016 compared with the anticipated price in Q4 2015, the energy and coal minister, Volodymyr Demchyshyn, told a press conference in Kyiv.

"We expect that in the first quarter, the price [of Russian gas] will be lower still. We expect the price charged by our European partners will also go down," he said.

He said the price of Russian gas would fall thanks to a formula that takes the price of gas for three previous quarters into consideration.

He also said that according to the latest agreements between Russia and the EU, the price of Russian gas was already economically justified and was therefore reacting to the overall tendency for energy resources to fall in price.

According to the European Commission, Russian gas will cost Ukraine $232 per thousand cubic meters in Q4 2015.