Bloomberg: Russian strikes wipe out 60% of Ukraine's gas production before winter

Rescuers of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine are eliminating the consequences of a rocket attack in Poltava region on 3 October. Photo: State Emergency Service in Poltava region

Russian attacks in recent days have destroyed more than half of Ukraine's natural gas production capacity.

Bloomberg reports this, citing its own sources.

According to the publication, Kyiv has informed its allies that the massive Russian shelling on 3 October, which took place in Kharkiv and Poltava regions, disabled about 60% of the country's gas production. Sources say that discussions on this topic were held in confidence. As a result, Ukraine could spend about €1.9 billion on fuel imports to get through the winter season.

Ukraine's gas infrastructure, which had been fully meeting domestic needs before the full-scale invasion, has been subject to increasingly intense rocket and drone attacks since the beginning of the year.

If the attacks continue, Ukraine may be forced to import about 4.4 billion cubic metres of gas by the end of March 2026. The cost of such purchases would be almost 2 billion euros, which is about 20% of the country's annual consumption, Bloomberg reports.

At the same time, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, speaking to journalists, said that Ukraine has two options for this winter. These are plan «A» — using our own gas, and plan «B» — imports in case of large-scale enemy attacks on our gas infrastructure.

The Head of State stressed that Russian troops are deliberately hitting energy and railway facilities in the north and in Poltava region, trying to «create chaos and pressure on the population».

Earlier, the Minister of Energy of Ukraine Svitlana Hrynchuk said that Ukraine would increase gas imports by 30% due to the shelling of energy infrastructure. At the same time, the government extended the fixed gas price for Ukrainians for another year.