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Yulia Tymoshenko, Ukraine's prime minister. Yulia Tymoshenko, Ukraine’s prime minister, said on Friday the recession-ravaged country had squeezed enough funds from consumers and cash-strapped state coffers to pay a $500m October gas bill to Gazprom, Russia’s natural gas giant.

Gazprom has not yet confirmed receipt of the payment. But the announcement extinguished fears in Brussels that Kiev and Moscow could be heading towards a repeat of last January’s energy standoff.

On Thursday the European Commission urged Ukraine to avoid any delays in payment for Russian gas that could spark cut-offs in flow to European Union consumers. José Manuel Barroso, the Commission president, telephoned President Viktor Yushchenko after Vladimir Putin, the Russian prime minister, warned EU officials there was a risk of a repeat of previous supply cuts. Mr Putin accused Mr Yushchenko of blocking a $500m (€336, £301m) payment for October’s supplies ahead of Saturday’s deadline.

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