Ukraine has begun test imports of gas from Slovakia via an upgraded pipeline, the head of Ukrainian state-owned gas company Naftogaz said on Saturday, as the country tries to secure greater energy independence from Russia, Reuters reported. Last year, Russia supplied about half of the gas Ukraine used, but Gazprom cut supplies on June 16 in a row over pricing and in the wake of Moscow's annexation of Crimea. Ukraine, which is trying to source more gas from the European Union and cut consumption levels from last year's 50 billion cubic metres (bcm), hopes to increase its own annual gas production from current levels of 20 billion cubic metres (bcm). The Slovak pipeline - an upgraded older link leading from the Vojany power station near the Ukrainian border to the western Ukrainian town of Uzhorod - can supply up to 10 bcm of gas a year. -- SPA 21:17 LOCAL TIME 18:17 GMT تغريد
