KYIV (Reuters) -Ukraine’s National Bank said on Friday the country needs $2.9 billion for gas imports in 2025 after Russian missile and drone attacks damaged Ukrainian gas production facilities.
In late winter and early spring, Russia attacked Ukrainian gas assets in the east of the country several times, causing gas production to drop by at least 40%. Some capacity has been restored.
“Over the forecast horizon, production will gradually recover, but it will not be enough to fully cover the domestic needs of the economy – industry, utilities and households,” the bank said in a report.
The bank said the need for purchases could decrease to about $1.1 billion in 2026 and about $0.4 billion in 2027. Ukraine had said its domestic gas production could cover all needs.
“It is expected that part of the gas imports will be partially financed by the assistance of international partners,” it added.
Ukraine’s state oil and gas form Naftogaz said this week it is in talks with the government and international financial institutions to raise 1 billion euros to purchase over 2 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas for the 2025/26 heating season.
The company did not disclose what volume of gas the country needs to import this year, while the former head of the Ukrainian gas transit operator said Ukraine may need to import up to 6.3 bcm as reserves have fallen to a record low.
Ukraine has been importing up to 10 million cubic metres of gas a day in recent days, pumping gas into storage facilities.
(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; editing by David Evans)
