KIEV, July 20 - Naftogaz Ukrayiny is on a massive domestic borrowing spree trying to raise money to pay for imports of Russian natural gas in July, the company reported Wednesday.

The borrowing, mostly from state-owned banks, shows that Naftogaz has been persistently failing to collect enough money from consumers to be able to pay for Russian gas imports.

The developments underscore a difficult balancing act for the Ukrainian company as any failure to meet the August 7 deadline for making the payment may trigger a serious action from Gazprom.