"Today we will sign an intergovernmental agreement on a joint completion of the Ukrainian reactors," Russian Deputy Energy Minister Bulat Nigmatulin told reporters in the city of Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine.

Nigmatulin said a financing deal should be signed by April.

Ukraine is in a dispute with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development over funding to complete two new nuclear plants in western Ukraine.

Kuchma last month dismissed as unacceptable terms offered by the EBRD and accused Ukraine's previous government of betraying national interests by agreeing the deal.

The EBRD has approved in principle a $215 million loan to help Ukraine recover electricity generating capacity lost from the closure of the last working reactor at Chernobyl.

RUSSIA KEEN TO LEND HELPING HAND

Ukrainian officials are holding talks with the EBRD on new terms but the government has said it intended to work more closely with Russia.

Moscow, keen to maintain its influence with its largest neighbour, was quick to offer a helping hand.

Russian experts estimate the completion of the two reactors would cost between $400 million and $500 million but the exact size of the expected loan was not immediately clear.

Analysts in Kiev say a loan from Russia for the reactors would further increase Ukraine's heavy dependence on Moscow for energy supplies. Ukraine relies on Russia for more than 60 percent of its energy needs.

Ukraine and Russia also plan to sign a bilateral agreement on transporting Russian gas through Ukraine next year. Russia's gas giant Gazprom ships gas through Ukrainian pipelines to western Europe.

In Kharkiv, a traditional centre of support in Ukraine for closer cooperation with its eastern neighbour, Putin and Kuchma will chair a forum of several hundred business leaders.