KIEV, June 5 (RIA Novosti) - Ukraine will pay around $500 million on Friday for Russian natural gas pumped into underground storage in May ahead of the June 7 deadline, President Viktor Yushchenko said.

"I had no other choice but to approve the decision to allocate funds, and a 3.8 billion hryvnia payment will be made to Russia's Gazprom in an hour," he told a meeting of the National Security Council.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warned on Wednesday that Gazprom may cut gas supplies to Ukraine by early July if it did not pay for gas to be pumped into underground storage, needed to keep pressure in pipelines and ensure uninterrupted transit to Europe. He urged the EU to step in to solve the problem.

Ukraine earlier said it may be unable to pay Russia for current shipments.

The gas pricing and debt row between the ex-Soviet allies in January led to a cutoff which caused disruptions in supplies to some EU consumers, forcing the shutdown of several factories.

Yushchenko said Ukraine's crisis-hit national energy company Naftogaz was "crucified," and that the situation was "critical."

Ukraine is to pay another $157 million for gas supplied for last month's domestic consumption.