[13] 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.

[17] 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.

[20][21][22] During a contentious voting session, half of the deputies (legislators) belonging to the ruling Party of Regions (PR) were out of their seats blocking the podium.

He stated that the bill was forced through Ukraine's legislature without parliamentary debate or public discourse, and after ignoring votes against it within three important committees (two of which had negative[clarification needed] majorities).

[25] According to former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, the agreement violates part of Ukraine's constitution, which forbids the country from hosting foreign military bases after 2017.

[19][28] 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.

[31] However, Ukrainian consumers experienced a 50% increase in household natural gas utility prices in July 2010 (a key demand of the International Monetary Fund in exchange for a $15 billion loan).

[36] In August 2011, Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov stated that Ukraine seeks to reduce imports of Russian natural gas by two-thirds (compared with 2010) by 2016.

[citation needed] In summer of 2014, the General Prosecutor of Ukraine opened a criminal case against Viktor Yanukovych on several charges following an investigation into the former president's signing of the Kharkiv Accords.