Gazprom Hikes Ukraine Gas Price By Over 40%

The Russian energy company, Gazprom has raised the price it charges Ukraine for gas by 43.6%.

The company's chief executive Alexei Miller said the change was because Kiev has failed to pay its bills.

He said its current debt to Russia stood at just over USD1.7 B.

Miller said the price of Russian gas for Ukraine has gone up to USD 385.5 per 1,000 cubic metres in the second quarter of 2014 from the previous rate of USD 268.5.

Ukraine's energy price watchdog hiked the gas prices for industry by 30% and for the state budget organisations by 64%.