Ukraine’s gas production capacity down 40%, country needs at least 4.5 billion cubic meters of gas imports for next winter – Oleksandr Kharchenko

Ukraine’s gas production has suffered significant losses due to recent attacks, reducing the country’s production capacity by 40%.

This was stated by Oleksandr Kharchenko, Director of the Energy Industry Research Center, during a briefing at the Media Center Ukraine.

“In recent weeks, Ukrainian gas production has been hit very hard. According to available statistics, these attacks have effectively limited our gas production and reduced our production capacity by 40%,” Kharchenko said.

Given these losses, he stressed that Ukraine will need to import gas to ensure energy security for the coming winter.

“Basically, we have no choice but to import gas. There are different estimates of how much we need – one state company estimates 7 billion cubic meters, another 2.7 billion. Our calculations show that we need at least 4.5 billion cubic meters of imports to ensure a stable winter in terms of gas supply,” Kharchenko added.

He also stressed the urgency of starting large-scale gas imports as soon as possible, preferably by May at the latest.

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