A tender for the head of Naftogaz Ukrainy, announced by the Minister of Energy and Environment Protection, is a lengthy procedure, and it is unlikely to be held until the end of 2019, Yuriy Vitrenko, the Executive Director of Naftogaz, has said.

"The tender is not a matter of one day or even a week. It is unlikely that it can be held before the end of the year," he wrote on his Facebook page.

"Of course, if it is a fair tender, and really professional and politically unbiased people will choose," Vitrenko added.

He also said that he will fly to Amsterdam on December 3, where key court hearings are due on December 4 to recover about $3 billion from Gazprom.

"If they succeed, we will be able to start receiving funds from about April, that is, in a matter of months," Vitrenko said.

Earlier, on December 2 Minister of Energy and Environment Protection of Ukraine Oleksiy Orzhel confirmed the plans of the Cabinet of Ministers to change the leadership of strategic companies, including Naftogaz Ukrainy and Ukrenergo, and update their supervisory boards.