The acting head of the gas, oil and oil processing industry department of the Fuel and Energy Ministry of Ukraine and former press secretary and advisor to Fuel and Energy Minister Yuriy Boiko, Kostiantyn Borodin, who has testified in court as a witness in the gas case against former Ukrainian Premier Yulia Tymoshenko, said that the state, represented by NJSC Naftogaz Ukrainy, suffered losses as a result of the signing of a contract on gas supplies from Russia on January 19, 2011.
After a while, Borodin asked to replace in his testimony the word "losses" with the phrase "excessive expenditures." According to him, due to the fact that the gas price in 2009 grew from $179.50 to $232.98 per 1,000 cubic meters, Naftogaz spent additional Hr 1.434 billion in 2009.
Tymoshenko put a number of questions to Borodin aimed at finding out how the witness calculated the losses he mentioned. The former premier also tried to find out whether he thinks that any annual increase of the gas price causes damage to the state. Borodin said he thinks that damage is caused when the gas price for Ukraine rises but the cost of gas transit across Ukraine remains unchanged.
Borodin was one of the members of the commission that checked various issues connected with financial and economic activity of Naftogaz Ukrainy from January 1, 2008 until December 31, 2010. The results of this investigation are attached to the materials of the criminal case.
Another witness, the former head of the documentary department of the secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, Vasyl Pavliuk, said that the big stamp with the National Emblem on Tymoshenko’s instructions can be used for confirmation of the signature of the heads of the Cabinet of Ministers, including the premier, the first vice premier, and vice premiers. According to him, this stamp confirms the signatures of these officials.
Pavliuk also informed that the documents with collective instructions of the members of the government are stamped by another stamp reading "Approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine."
