Ukraine to divert some European gas on Jan. 3: Russia

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Ukraine has not given agreement to ship the full volume of gas to Europe on Saturday that Russia has requested, Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom said on Friday.

"The Ukrainian side for the next 24 hours has not agreed to the needed transit volume," Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov said at a Moscow news conference.

He said Ukraine had agreed to ship 296 million cubic meters (mcm) to Europe on January 3, not the 303 mcm that Russia had requested.

As Ukraine does not recognize the validity of its transit contract with Russia, the two sides are agreeing what volumes to ship to European customers on a day-by-day basis.

He said Gazprom expected to receive most of the arrears it is claiming from Ukraine by January 11, though $614 million will still be outstanding.

Kupriyanov also said Ukraine had admitted stealing gas volumes intended for European customers, and said Gazprom was increasing supplies to Europe.

(Reporting by Conor Humphries; Writing by Christian Lowe; Editing by William Hardy)