“Russia, Gazprom - we signed a five-year contract for pumping a certain volume of Russian natural gas to our consumers in Europe through the territory of Ukraine,” his words are quoted on the Kremlin's website.

Putin noted that Russia has assumed "certain obligations under this contract," which it will fully fulfill.

Earlier, the Russian leader in his article "On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians" spoke about the losses of Ukraine due to the severance of economic ties with Russia.