KIEV, June 17 (Reuters) - An explosion hit a gas transit pipeline in the central Ukrainian region of Poltava on Tuesday, police said, but it was not clear whether the transit of Russian gas to Europe had been affected.
"At 14.20 (1120 GMT) we received information about an explosion on the pipeline in a field between two small villages," a Poltava police spokeswoman said by telephone.
"Action to put out the fire is coming to an end," she said, adding that there no casualties.
The pipeline is an area that is far from the violence that has rocked east Ukraine, where pro-Russian separatists have risen up against central rule. Russia has cut off Ukraine's gas supplies in a pricing dispute but Kiev has said it will keep gas flowing to the rest of Europe.
(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk, Editing by Timothy Heritage)
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