2010 Ukrainian – Russian Naval Base for Natural Gas treaty The Russian Ukrainian Naval Base for Gas treaty , widely referred to as the Kharkоv Accords ( ) or the Kharkiv Pact ( ) in the Russian and Ukrainian media , is a treaty between Ukraine and Russia whereby the Russian lease on naval facilities in Crimea would be extended beyond 2017 by 25 years ( to 2042 ) with an additional 5 year renewal option ( to 2047 ) in exchange for a multiyear discounted contract to provide Ukraine with Russian natural gas . The agreement , signed on 21 April 2010 in Kharkiv , Ukraine , by Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and Russian President Dimitry Medvedev and ratified by the parliaments of the two countries on 27 April 2010 , aroused much controversy in Ukraine . History . In 1997 , Russia and Ukraine signed the Partition Treaty , establishing two independent national fleets and dividing armaments and bases between them . Ukraine also agreed to lease major parts of its new bases in Sevastopol to the Russian Black Sea Fleet until 2017 . During the presidency of Victor Yushchenko the Ukrainian government declared that the lease will not be extended and that the fleet will have to leave Sevastopol by 2017 . Amid several Russia – Ukraine gas disputes , including a halt of natural gas supplies to European countries , the price that Ukraine had to pay for Russian natural gas was raised in 2009 and 2006 . Negotiation . The Prime Minister of Ukraine , Mykola Azarov , and the Energy Minister , Yuriy Boyko , were in Moscow in late March 2010 to negotiate lower gas prices ; neither clearly explained what Ukraine was prepared to offer in return . Following these talks Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin stated that Russia was prepared to discuss the revision of the price for natural gas it sells to Ukraine . Mid - April Ukrainian officials stated they are seeking an average price of $ 240 – $ 260 per 1000 cubic metres for 2010 . Ukraine paid an average of $ 305 in the first quarter of 2010 and $ 330 in the second quarter . On 21 April 2010 , Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych signed an agreement in which Russia agreed to a 30 % drop in the price of natural gas sold to Ukraine . Russia agreed to this in exchange for permission to extend Russia ' s lease of a major naval base in the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Sevastopol for an additional 25 years ( to 2042 ) with an additional 5 year renewal option ( to 2047 ) . The agreement put a cap on the scale of price hikes ; but the main unfavourable terms for Ukraine of the 2009 gas contract remained in place . " We have indeed reached an unprecedented agreement , " the Russian president stated . " The rent [ for the naval base ] will be increased by an amount equivalent to that of the [ gas price ] discount . " Ratification and criticism . The agreement was subject to approval by both the Russian and Ukrainian parliaments . They did ratify the agreement on 27 April 2010 . The Ukrainian parliament ratified it after several eggs were thrown towards the speaker , Volodymyr Lytvyn , by deputies and other incidents . Opposition members in Ukraine and Russia expressed doubts the agreement would be fulfilled by Ukraine side . According to Yanukovych the only way out of holding the state budget deficit down , as requested by the International Monetary Fund , while protecting pensioners and minimal wages , was to extend the Russian Navy lease in Crimea in exchange for cheaper natural gas . Opposition members in Ukraine described the agreement as a " sell out of national interests " . Voting . At 10 : 40 , while most of deputies were out of their seats , the voting screen showed the number 236 . During the voting , half of deputies of Party of Regions ( PR ) were out of their seats blocking the podium . For the ratification were 160 members of PR , including Rinat Akhmetov , who was not present in the session hall . Among the opposition parties , the ratification was approved by nine members of BYuT and seven from Our Ukraine . All members to the last from the Communist Party of Ukraine and Lytvyn Bloc voted for the Kharkiv Pact as well . Of those who did not belong to a faction , only Taras Chornovil , Oleksandr Fomin , and Ihor Rybakov did not support the agreement . Criticism . According to former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko the agreement violates part of the Ukrainian Constitution , which forbids the country from hosting foreign military bases after 2017 . The Chairman of the Ukrainian Constitutional Court said on 23 April that only the President and the Cabinet of Ministers can request a court ruling on constitutionality . Our Ukraine called for the impeachment of President Yanukovych for violating the Ukrainian Constitution . Prime Minister Putin opined that the price Russia was asked to pay was exorbitant and remarked , " No military base in the world is worth that much money . We could build several such bases for that amount . " Boris Nemtsov , former leader of the Union of Right Forces , said that Russia needed the Black Sea fleet in Crimea for war with Georgia and asked rhetorically if war with Georgia was worth $ 40 billion . Effects . In June 2010 , Ukraine pays Gazprom around $ 234 per 1 , 000 cubic metres . Still , Ukrainian consumers experienced a 50 % increase on household natural gas utility prices in July 2010 ( a key demand of the International Monetary Fund in exchange of a $ 15 billion loan ) . In August 2011 , Ukraine paid Russia $ 350 per 1 , 000 cubic metres ; in November 2011 it paid $ 400 per 1 , 000 cubic meters . In January 2013 Ukraine paid $ 430 per 1 , 000 cubic metres . Since August 2011 Ukraine seeks to reduce imports of Russian natural gas by two - thirds ( compared with 2010 ) in 2016 .