Russian Strikes Destroy 60% of Ukraine’s Gas Output, Forcing Kyiv to Rely on Costly Imports – Bloomberg
Russia’s recent large-scale strikes have destroyed over half of Ukraine’s domestic natural gas production capacity, a devastating blow that will likely compel Kyiv to spend nearly €1.9 billion on gas imports to make it through the winter, Bloomberg reported.
According to sources cited by the outlet, Ukrainian officials informed their Western allies that Russia’s massive bombardments on Kharkiv and Poltava regions on 3 October disabled around 60% of the country’s gas output. If such attacks continue, Ukraine will be forced to purchase approximately 4.4 billion cubic meters of gas — roughly 20% of its annual consumption — by the end of March. Kyiv has urgently appealed to G7 countries for equipment to repair its energy grid and for additional air defense systems to protect critical infrastructure, alongside financial aid to fund the imports.
“Russia will do everything to prevent us from extracting our gas,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in Kyiv on Monday. “It will be difficult to protect all this. The task is to have money to import gas so that people have heating.” Since January, Ukraine has bought 4.58 billion cubic meters of gas from abroad, 3.67 billion of which were purchased after last winter. While Kyiv initially planned to import 5.8 billion cubic meters by year’s end, it now expects this figure to rise amid continuing Russian strikes. The country’s energy minister, Svitlana Hrynchuk, said the final import volume will depend on how fast damaged facilities can be repaired and whether further attacks occur.
Naftogaz, the state energy company, declined to comment on operational losses. However, CEO Serhii Koretsky wrote on LinkedIn that he held “productive” talks with G7 representatives, the IMF, and other partners, emphasizing that “our partners understand the full complexity of the situation.” On 3 October, Russia launched one of its largest-ever coordinated attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, involving 35 missiles — including a large number of ballistic ones — and 60 drones. “Some were intercepted, but not all, unfortunately,” Koretsky noted.
