KIEV, June 27 - Dmytro Firtash, a Ukrainian businessman who claims to own 40% stake in RosUkrEnergo, a controversial gas trader, suggested he had recently also acquired a 74.9% in a big Russian natural gas producer.

Firtash said the acquisition of Astrakhan Oil and Gas Company (ANGK) is a strategic fit and may provide a source of cheap gas to be supplied to Ukraine and to the European Union.