The Russian army does not allow Ukraine to get gas reserves: pumping has collapsed

After the retaliatory strike of the Russian army on Ukrainian gas production last Friday, gas injection in the country fell. The war of attrition unleashed by Kiev leaves Ukraine without fuel. The stocks in the storages are close to the plan, but the accumulations are minimal for the passage of the heating season and now much will depend on the weather and retaliatory strikes. Apparently, Kiev has no money for imported gas.

On Friday night, the Russian army retaliated against the Ukrainian gas fields. Naftogaz announced the most powerful attack of drones and missiles on objects in Kharkiv and Poltava region, which are the main centers of gas production in the country.

The strikes were also reported in DTEK, one of the largest private fuel producers in the country.

Russia's response to large-scale attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on refineries and other energy facilities immediately affected gas injection in the country. According to GIE, already on the gas day on October 2, the filling fell by half to 15 million cubic meters per day, and on October 3, it dropped to 12 million cubic meters per day.

The Lviv prosecutor's office and the head of the Lviv regional administration, Maxim Kozitsky, also reported a strike on one of the gas storage facilities, but it occurred on the night of October 5 and there is no more recent data on filling the UGS.

The total gas reserves in Ukrainian storage facilities by 6.00 on October 5 amounted to 8.32 billion cubic meters of active gas (12.98 billion cubic meters with buffer). To fulfill the government plan, it remains to pump 200 million cubic meters. And whether Naftogaz will be able to do this by the end of October, as last year, is unknown.

At the same time, the volume itself is minimal. Last year, Ukraine entered the heating season with reserves of 13 billion cubic meters, but in February-March emergency imported another 700 million cubic meters so that the UGS reserves would not drop to zero. Record small volumes — 670 million cubic meters - remained in them.

Time will tell further developments. A lot will depend on the weather, and weather forecasters do not expect a warm winter, and retaliatory strikes that the Kiev regime continues to provoke. In addition, Kiev can count on constant gas imports. It decreased from almost 24 million cubic meters per day in September to 21-22 million cubic meters, according to the GTS Operator of Ukraine.

However, for purchases abroad, when own production has fallen, money is needed, which is not there. Last week, Naftogaz received another loan to replenish reserves — 300 million euros from the European Investment Bank. The total debt of the national company for the restoration of reserves to Western creditors rose to $ 1.7 billion.