The gas pumping station at Sudzhe, Russia, seen late Sunday, Jan. 11, 2009. Ukraine signed a deal... 
(AP)
Gazprom would not say when its observers would be in place.
"The EU, Russia and Ukraine will each name 25 monitoring experts," said Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin. "This will be sufficient to monitor the supply of gas at all monitoring points."
Ukraine first signed the agreement early Sunday, but Russia declared it invalid after Ukraine attached additional conditions, including being able to use Russian gas to pump supplies across its vast territory. Gazprom says Ukraine must pay for that so-called technical gas, but Kiev insists it won't pay until the two countries strike their own gas deal and Russia restores gas deliveries to Ukraine.
Ukrainian government officials clarified the deal Monday and said the declaration was not legally binding.
"We will continue to use (technical) gas from the Russian Federation," Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko told reporters. "We will be able to pay for it when contracts are signed and we receive payment for transit."
Gazprom has lost about $800 million in revenue because of the disruption of supplies, Putin told German ARD television.
The anger toward Russia for shutting off supplies was particularly acute in eastern Europe, where many residents spent money they really couldn't afford on electric heating and temperatures plunged to -14 C (6.8 F) in places like Sarajevo, the Bosnian capital.
"We switched our heating from gas to electricity," said Snjezana Kordic, a 51-year-old Sarajevo resident. "We will never again depend on the mood of the Russians."
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Associated Press writers Yuras Karmanau in Kiev, Lynn Berry in Moscow, Aoife White in Brussels, Belgium, and Aida Cerkez-Robinson in Bosnia-Herzegovina contributed to this report.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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