Ukraine begins gas payments to Russia, delivery set to resume

Russian energy company Gazprom has received a transfer of 1.45 billion dollars from Ukraine to partially pay off the country's gas debts, a company spokesman confirmed on Wednesday, according to dpa.
Ukrainian energy company Naftogas received permission from political leaders in Kiev on Tuesday to transfer the amount, following an EU-mediated deal signed by Russia and Ukraine to ensure Ukraine's gas supplies through the winter.
The deal ended a protracted gas dispute between Russia and Ukraine prompted by the billions in arrears, and exacerbated by ongoing conflict between pro-Russian separatists and Ukraine government troops in the eastern Donbass region.
The standoff prompted concerns in the EU that gas supplies would be disrupted across the continent.