On July 19, the maturity of Naftogaz’s bonds falls, in addition to two interest payments, amounting to 335 million dollars.
The company says the Russian invasion has left it short of cash because many of its customers are now unable to pay their bills.
In its request for a payment freeze, Naftogaz said that the ongoing Russian invasion had led to a “significant economic and commercial deterioration in Ukraine” and that the defaults of its customers “negatively affected its liquidity position”.
Naftogaz is a major source of income for Ukraine, as it contributed approximately 17% of the total revenues of the state budget last year, and before the war the company had more than 50,000 employees.
The payment freeze will raise expectations that the government will do a similar measure before paying nearly $1 billion in sovereign bonds due in September, although it has so far said it intends to repay.