Russia's Gazprom receives prepayment from Ukraine for gas supplies

The company logo of Gazprom Neft is seen at a service station outside the headquarters of Gazprom in Moscow September 12, 2014. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian natural gas producer Gazprom said on Saturday it had received a prepayment of $378.22 million from Ukraine for natural gas supplies, paving the way for the first shipments to Kiev since Moscow cut supplies in June.

Ukraine's state energy firm, Naftogaz, said on Friday it had transferred the sum to Gazprom for December. A Gazprom spokesman confirmed the money had been received.