KIEV, Sept. 22 - Ukraine's national oil and gas company Naftogaz Ukrayiny will purchase currency directly from the National Bank of Ukraine.

NBU Governor Valeriya Gontareva said in an interview with Ukrainian newspaper Dzerkalo Tyzhnia that the NBU intends to sell Naftogaz around $426 million in September. This money will be used to pay for natural gas imported from Europe.

"In addition, we brought Naftogaz Ukrayiny off the market. This month, Naftogaz will buy currency directly from the National Bank to pay for reverse gas supplies. We have already sold the company currency worth $270 million [as of September 17], and we are going to sell a total of around $426 million this month," Gontareva said.