Russian strikes destroy nearly 50% of Ukraine’s gas production this winter

Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal stated this at a government meeting on April 29.

“This winter, the enemy carried out a series of massive attacks on Ukraine’s gas production infrastructure, causing losses amounting to almost 50% of total extraction. Despite this, the sector has withstood the pressure and continues to reliably supply consumers with ‘blue fuel’ (natural gas). We are now actively working to compensate for these losses, including through imports,” he said.

Since the beginning of the year, Ukraine has already contracted 1.5 billion cubic meters of gas, and will purchase another 300 million cubic meters of LNG from the Polish company Orlen. This is part of a strategy to diversify sources in order to ensure stable reserves for the next winter.

The government has also decided to simplify conditions for Ukrainian gas production companies: procedures for construction and connection to the gas transmission system have been accelerated, which should stimulate an increase in domestic production.

• On the night of February 20, Russia carried out a massive attack on Ukraine’s gas infrastructure. In particular, production facilities were damaged. According to the Minister of Energy, Herman Halushchenko, the goal of such attacks was to stop the extraction of gas needed to meet the household needs of citizens and for centralized heating.