KIEV, Sept. 2 - Ukraine on Tuesday started massive imports of European natural gas via the Vojany-Uzhgorog Slovakian gas pipeline, the government reported in a statement.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk, jointly with his Slovakian counterpart Robert Fico, attended the ceremony to open commercial supplies of gas via the pipeline.

"Due to the opening of the supplies from Slovakia and the opportunity to purchase gas in Europe we have replaced 40% of gas that has been previously bought from the Russian company Gazprom,” Yatseniuk said in the statement. “Now, we buy and transport gas from Europe.”