KIEV, Nov. 10 - Ukraine’s daily imports of European natural gas via Slovakia increased by more than 16% this month as the country has been seeking ways to avoid relying on Russian energy.

The European gas imports rose to 30.9 million cubic meters as of November 7, compared with about 26.5 million cu m/day imported so far this year, UkrTransGaz, the state gas shipper, reported Monday.