Russian raids of recent days have eliminated more than half of domestic production gas of Ukraine, possibly forcing the country plagued by war to spend 1.9 billion euros ($ 2.2 billion) on fuel imports to survive the upcoming winter.
Specifically, Kiev told its allies earlier this week that a massive Russian attack of attacks aimed at the areas of Kharkov and Poltava on October 3 reduced about 60% of the country’s natural gas production, according to Bloomberg.
Ukraine’s natural gas infrastructure – capable of meeting domestic demand before the Russian full -scale invasion – have increasingly been intense attacks with rockets and unmanned aircraft since the beginning of this year.
If the strikes continue, Ukraine expects it to need to buy about 4.4 billion cubic meters of gas by the end of March, at a cost of nearly 2 billion euros. This is equivalent to almost 20% of Ukraine’s annual consumption.
Following the attacks, Ukraine has addressed urgent appeals to its G7 partners for equipment for repairing its energy system and reiterated its long -term requests for more air defense systems to protect energy infrastructure. It also seeks financial support to pay for the necessary gas imports.
“Russia will do everything to prevent us from exporting our natural gas,” Ukraine President Volodimir Zelenski told reporters in Kiev on Monday (6.10.25). “They will do everything. It will be difficult to protect all this. The task is to have money to import natural gas so that people have natural gas. “
Natural gas is essential during the often harsh winters in Ukraine, where households depend almost entirely on fuel for heating. Russia has targeted the country’s energy infrastructure every winter since its invasion in February 2022, with the aim of eroding the morale and support of the civilian population in the Moscow war.
So far, Ukraine has bought 4.58 billion cubic meters of natural gas from foreign suppliers, including 3.67 billion from the end of the last heating season. While Kiev has estimated that by the end of the year, the country’s importing needs will reach 5.8 billion, he told the allies earlier this week that the number may increase due to Russian attacks, according to sources.
The increased supply of gas to Ukraine from the European Union could limit the region market and these concerns have already contributed to an increase in gas prices in Europe earlier this week. EU natural gas reserves are still under historical standards, leaving the area vulnerable to possible disorders. Cold winter could quickly exhaust stocks and cause more price increases, increasing pressure on consumers.
Ukraine, first of all, will seek to rely on more domestic mining, Zelenski told reporters in Kiev on Wednesday. But if there is a “strong attack on all gas infrastructure”, it will resort to imports and knows “where to find the money required”.
The exact amount of natural gas needed by Ukraine will depend on various factors, such as the speed of repairs on damaged facilities and the impact of any future air strikes, said Energy Minister Svitlana Graycouk on Tuesday.
Ukraine’s National Energy Company, Naftogaz, refused to comment, but in a post on Linkedin, its chief executive, Sergii Koretskyi, said she had a “productive” meeting with G-7 representatives and had spoken with the International Monetary Fund and other partners.
“Our partners fully understand the complexity of the situation,” he wrote.
A key risk for Kiev is that damage to domestic production can worsen, as both Ukraine and Russia continue to intensify attacks on energy infrastructure. Ukraine has also targeted Russian refineries in an effort to limit the huge revenue of Moscow from energy exports, which are then channeled into war effort.
Russia has intensified its attacks after Ukraine has stopped transit Russian gas to the European Union at the beginning of the year.
While Ukraine has survived previous winters with generators and helping citizens during the winter power vacation, there is increasing concern that it will not be possible to repair damage from recent attacks before the end of winter.
And the cost is increasing. The account for emergency energy repairs is estimated at around 758 million euros, according to people who know the situation well.
Kiev estimates the cost of immediate physical damage to the energy sector since the start of the invasion of $ 20.51 billion, including $ 14.8 billion in the electricity sector, $ 1.35 billion in the gas sector and $ 1.7 billion. The figures do not include the losses associated with the Zaporizia Nuclear Production Station, which Moscow’s forces occupied at the beginning of the war.
Ukraine is also looking for funds for the purchase of non -man -made aircraft and military capabilities for more defense against attacks. On Monday, Zelenski called on the allies to help cover the purchase of yet another batch of US weapons.
The European Bank of Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank and the European Commission are already considering additional assistance to assist Ukraine’s energy sector, according to the same sources. Naftogaz has already received a loan of € 500 million from the EBRD in August to finance emergency markets and received a loan of 300 million euros from the EIB early in the month.
“The Commission is deeply concerned about the damage caused by Russia to Ukraine’s energy infrastructure,” said Anna Kaisa Hitkonen, a spokesman for the energy committee. “We remain in close contact with Ukraine about the total energy situation in the country.”