KIEV, Feb. 24 - Gazprom accusations that Ukraine is tapping unsanctioned gas require additional study and response by specialists, leader of the Party of Regions faction Oleksandr Yefremov said.

"I know that in the difficult periods we took gas from our storage facilities," Yefremov said at a briefing.

Ukraine took Russian gas intended for European consumers at the beginning of this year, Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said during a meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday. Abnormally cold temperatures in Europe caused European consumers to step up their requests for Russian gas supplies, he said. "However, a significant amount of Russian gas sent to European consumers never got there. On certain days, up to 40 million cubic meters of gas remained on Ukrainian territory," Miller said. He added that "this inflicted financial and reputational damage on Gazprom."