KIEV, Oct. 18 - Ukraine’s biggest natural gas trader, UkrGaz-Energo, wired the first $200 million payment to pay an outstanding $929 million debt owed to Russian gas giant Gazprom for gas supplies, the trader reported Thursday.

The trader needs to clear the debt completely before November 1 to avoid any reduction of gas supplies from Russia to Ukraine, according to a debt settlement agreement signed last week.