Kiev/Moscow  - Observers sent by the European Union to Ukraine to monitor Russian gas shipments began work on Saturday, a Ukrainian official said.

The disclosure came as meanwhile in Moscow, Russia and the EU signed an agreement on the EU proposal for international observers to monitor the Russian shipments via the Ukraine.

The EU team was in Kiev at the headquarters of the Ukrainian natural gas transportation company Ukrtransnafta for inspections of volume counting equipment and company records, said Volodymyr Trikolich, an Ukrtransgaz spokesman, at a Kiev press conference.

An advance team of eight EU technicians arrived in Ukraine on Friday as part of a Brussels plan to end bickering between Kiev and the Kremlin over natural gas shipments, by placing independent monitors in Ukraine to supervise Russian exports to Europe moving through Ukrainian pipelines.

A total 18 observers will work in Ukraine until the standoff between Russia and Ukraine over gas shipments is resolved, EU officials said Friday.

Ukraine has suggested the monitors take up observation at the six main pipelines carrying Russian gas into Ukraine, and at Uktransnafta headquarters.

The actual field locations of the EU observers for the monitoring mission had not been made public by late afternoon Saturday.

The EU observers visiting Ukrtransnafta obtained full access to monitoring equipment and company archives, Trikolich claimed.

Russian observers were "welcome" to perform their own independent inspections, he added.

The presence of independent observers to watch Russian gas exports to Europe via Ukrainian pipelines was a key pre-condition set by Moscow for an end to a total embargo on such shipments, imposed last week. (dpa)