"As far as gas prices are concerned, the situation for end users is becoming quite dramatic," Russian agencies and state television channels quoted Gazprom’s chief executive Alexei Miller as telling Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

Gazprom, the world’s largest gas producer, imports gas from ex-Soviet republics of Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to meet growing demand at home and abroad. Ukraine heavily relies on purchases of Central Asian gas from Gazprom.