Russian attacks have destroyed more than half of Ukraine’s domestic natural gas production, forcing Kyiv to spend about €1.9 billion ($2.2 billion) on fuel imports as it aims to get through the winter, Bloomberg reports.
Ukraine projections suggest it will need about 4.4 billion cubic meters of gas to take it through to the end of March according to Bloomberg’s sources – equivalent to nearly 20% of the country’s annual consumption. The report adds that Oct. 3 strikes on Kharkiv and Poltava regions took out roughly 60% of gas production.
Ukraine’s government asked its G7 partners for equipment to repair damaged facilities. It also renewed requests for air defense systems to protect energy infrastructure and sought financial support for imports, Bloomberg writes.
On Oct. 9 Russian forces launched another massive drone attack on Ukraine’s Odesa region, setting fires and cutting power to tens of thousands of homes, as Moscow renewed its campaign to cripple Ukraine’s energy system ahead of winter.
“Russia will do everything to prevent us from extracting our gas,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told reporters in Kyiv on Monday. “They will do everything. It will be difficult to protect all of this. The task is to have money to import gas so that people have gas.”
So far, Ukraine has purchased 4.58 billion cubic meters of gas from foreign suppliers this year, including 3.67 billion since the last heating season. Kyiv estimates total import needs may reach 5.8 billion cubic meters by year-end due to ongoing attacks, Bloomberg wrote.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB), and the EU Commission are considering more aid for Ukraine’s energy sector, the media outlet wrote.
Ukraine’s state-owned gas giant Naftogaz has already received a €500 million loan from the EBRD in August for emergency purchases and another €300 million from the EIB earlier this month.
Ukraine’s races to secure winter gas supplies
Naftogaz has suffered from heavy Russian air strikes, including the largest attack on its production infrastructure since 2022. On Oct. 4, about 35 missiles – including several ballistics – and 60 drones targeted on gas facilities in the Kharkiv and Poltava regions, causing extensive damage despite some being shot down, the company said.
Emergency energy repairs will cost about €758 million (almost $878 million). Ukraine estimates direct damage to the energy sector at $20.51 billion since the invasion, including $14.8 billion in electricity, $1.35 billion in gas, and $1.7 billion in oil, Bloomberg sources said.
Ukraine will prioritize boosting domestic gas extraction, Zelenskiy told reporters in Kyiv on Wednesday. But if there’s “a strong attack on all gas infrastructure,” it will resort to imports and knows “where to find the money required.”
The exact amount of gas Ukraine requires will depend on a number of factors, including the speed of repairs at damaged facilities and the impact of any future airstrikes, Energy Minister Svitlana Grynchuk said on Tuesday, the media outlet wrote.
Naftogaz has been securing financial support from Ukrainian banks, including Ukreximbank, Ukrgasbank, and PrivatBank, to prepare for the heating season. The company is also working with international partners: in August, Norway pledged nearly $100 million to help import natural gas, while cooperation with Poland’s ORLEN focuses on strengthening supply and storage capacity to bolster Ukraine’s energy resilience.