Since the beginning of the full-scale war, Ukraine has been using its existing gas reserves without replenishing them through imports.
Oleksandr Kharchenko, Director of the Energy Research Center, stated this at a briefing at the Ukraine Media Center, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
He estimated that Ukraine will need to import 4-4.5 billion cubic meters of gas for the upcoming heating season, citing historically low storage levels as the main reason for this necessity.
“This crisis crystallized after several waves of attacks on our production. But these attacks are not the root cause of the problem. In fact, more than 80% of the damaged facilities are already operational,” the expert emphasized.
Kharchenko also recalled that before the full-scale war, Ukraine had sufficient gas reserves in storage facilities, and at the time, the head of Naftogaz, Oleksiy Chernyshov, had stated that there was no need to import additional gas.
“The gap between domestic gas production and consumption, which normally required imports, was instead covered by reserves from 2021. The key factor is that these reserves were depleted, but no new ones were built up,” Kharchenko explained.
According to him, Ukraine has always had a certain deficit between its own gas production and consumption.
He said that there are many ways to resolve this situation, but they are politically challenging. If we restore a fully functioning gas market, prices will shift significantly—but gas supply itself will stabilize.
In this scenario, he emphasized the need for comprehensive reform, including the introduction of targeted subsidies for specific consumer groups. However, he noted a lack of readiness to implement such measures.
As reported, a forecast by DiXi Group suggests that starting in June, Ukraine will need to increase gas imports to 24-32 million cubic meters per day to prevent shortages in winter.
Source: Low gas reserves not caused by enemy attacks – expert
