KIEV, October 30 (RIA Novosti) - Moscow has offered Kiev assistance in curbing the spread of swine flu, the Russian foreign minister told his Ukrainian counterpart by telephone on Friday.

Swine flu has been confirmed as the cause of 11 deaths in western Ukraine. Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko ruled to impose quarantine in nine regions to curb the spread of the virus.

"Over the serious epidemiological situation in our country's western regions [Russian Foreign Minister Sergei] Lavrov offered to render Ukraine the necessary assistance," the press service of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said.

Lavrov and his Ukrainian counterpart, Petro Poroshenko, agreed to coordinate the issue at the level of the two countries' health ministries.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian government channeled $12.5 million into the purchase of anti-swine flu medicines and medical equipment, the country's cabinet said on its website on Friday.

In Russia, five deaths from the H1N1 virus have so far been registered. Three fatalities were reported in the east Siberian city of Chita, one in Moscow, and another one in the Siberian Krasnoyarsk region. The total number of officially confirmed swine flu cases in the country has reached almost 1,900.