KIEV, July 28 - Transit of Russian gas through Ukraine will amount to about 70 billion cubic meters (bcm) in 2016, Ukrtransgaz chief Ihor Prokopiv said at a press conference in Kiev on Thursday.

"As of today we are expecting 70 bcm," he said, adding that transit volumes declined substantially in recent days.

"We live by technical applications. Over the course of the year, there may have been applications for about 200 million cubic meters (mcm) per day on average, but now they have fallen steeply without explanation by the Russian side, to 130-140 mcm. This is cause for concern. As of today [July 28], transit rose to 150 mcm," Prokopiv said.