Ukraine's central bank said Wednesday it had received an initial slice of aid worth $3.19 billion from the International Monetary Fund, as the West seeks to shore up the crisis-hit country. The cash is part of an overall IMF package of $17 billion and Kiev is expected to use the first tranche to pay an outstanding debt to Russia's state-owned gas firm Gazprom, which has threatened to turn off the taps if it does not receive pre-payments this month.