By In a recent escalation of the ongoing conflict, Russia launched an overnight attack on Ukraine’s central Poltava region, causing significant damage to Ukrainian natural gas production facilities.
The state-run oil and gas firm Naftogaz and Energy Minister German Galushchenko confirmed the attack and the resulting damage on Tuesday.
This attack is expected to have a substantial impact on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and could potentially lead to gas shortages and disruptions in supply, both domestically and possibly to European countries that rely on Ukrainian gas transit.
The company said in a statement:
Naftogaz Group’s production facilities in Poltava region were damaged. Fortunately, there were no casualties.
Naftogaz stated that it is taking all necessary measures to stabilise the gas supply situation in the Poltava region.
Impact on local communities
In the Poltava region, the aftermath of missile strikes has left a significant impact on the local communities.
The Poltava regional military administration reported that these strikes have resulted in a disruption of essential services, specifically the gas supply, for nine settlements within the Myrhorod district.
This loss of gas supply will undoubtedly affect the daily lives of residents in these areas, impacting their ability to cook, heat their homes, and access other gas-dependent services.
The authorities are likely assessing the damage and working to restore gas supply to these affected settlements as quickly as possible.
Russia, which had previously concentrated its missile and drone attacks on disrupting the Ukrainian electricity sector, has now significantly shifted its strategy.
Shift in Kremlin’s strategy
In recent months, there has been a marked escalation in attacks targeting Ukraine’s gas infrastructure. This includes both the storage facilities, where gas is held in reserve, and the production fields, where gas is extracted from the ground.
This tactical shift by Russia can be seen as an attempt to further cripple Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and exert additional pressure on the country during the ongoing conflict.
By targeting gas facilities, Russia aims to disrupt heating supplies for both residential and industrial sectors, especially crucial during the harsh Ukrainian winters.
Ukraine’s underground gas storage facilities, crucial for maintaining energy security and managing seasonal fluctuations in demand, are primarily situated in the western regions of the country.
This geographic positioning contrasts with the location of the country’s main gas production capacities, which are concentrated in the eastern regions, particularly in the Kharkiv region near the frontline, and in the Poltava region.
The eastern regions, where gas production is centered, have been particularly susceptible to conflict and instability, posing risks to the continuity of gas supply.
Moreover, the need to transport gas from the production sites in the east to the storage facilities in the west creates logistical challenges and potential bottlenecks, further exacerbating the vulnerabilities of the energy system.
Ukraine’s imports likely to rise
Ukraine will probably increase its natural gas imports to over 16.7 million cubic metres on Tuesday, compared to 16.3 million cubic metres on Monday, according to the country’s state-run gas transmission system operator.
Ukraine uses 110 to 140 million cubic meters of gas per day during the winter, according to a Reuters report.
This consumption is typically met by domestic gas production and reserves from storage facilities in roughly equal measure.
However, the former head of Ukraine’s gas transmission system told Reuters that gas reserves in storage have reached critically low levels, and this significantly impacts Ukraine’s ability to withdraw enough gas to meet its daily consumption needs.
Kyiv may be forced to increase its import volumes due to both the decline in gas production and the challenges associated with extracting fuel from depleted underground storage facilities, according to Reuters.
Ukraine significantly increased gas imports last week following a series of Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian gas sector facilities in recent months.
Data quoted by Reuters showed that Ukraine imported 7.6 million cubic meters of gas from Hungary, 7.3 million cubic meters from Slovakia, and 1.8 million cubic meters from Poland.
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