KIEV, Nov. 25 – A six-month $2 billion credit issued to Ukraine by Russia's VTB Bank in June 2010, with the possibility of its prolongation for three six-month periods, is to be restructured into a long-term loan, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said.

"We have agreed that we will begin the process of its restructuring into a long-term loan under our bonds, under our securities," he said in an interview with the Kyiv Post weekly.

Azarov denied rumors that Ukraine had asked for an increase in the size of the loan to $5 billion.