Russia targeted Ukrainian energy infrastructure in overnight attacks: Zelensky

Russia targeted energy infrastructure in Ukraine during its latest overnight drone attacks, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said March 19, despite the Russian pledge a day earlier to order a 30-day halt to targeting of energy sites.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 18 ordered a 30-day halt to attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure after a much-anticipated telephone conversation with US President Donald Trump.

But Zelensky said Russia had continued to target energy infrastructure in a barrage of overnight attacks, with reports that 150 drones were launched including against energy sites.

"It is these types of nighttime attacks by Russia that destroy our energy sector, our infrastructure, and the normal life of Ukrainians," Zelensky wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

"And the fact that this night is no exception shows that the pressure on Russia must continue for the sake of peace," he said.

European gas prices opened higher March 19, with the Dutch TTF front-month contract reaching close to Eur43/MWh in early trade, according to ICE data.

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, last assessed the TTF month-ahead price on March 18 at Eur40.60/MWh.

Repeated attacks

Ukraine's energy sector has been repeatedly hit by Russian attacks since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, taking out swathes of Ukraine's power generation capacity as well as impacting the country's gas infrastructure.

Indeed, Russia has increasingly turned to targeting Ukrainian gas production sites in 2025, having previously focused attacks on gas storage sites and other gas infrastructure.

An attack on March 7 saw gas production facilities owned by state-owned Naftogaz group damaged, while privately owned D.TEK said its upstream facilities had also been targeted, forcing it to shut in operations.

Russian attacks in January and February against Ukrainian gas production facilities had already caused "significant" damage, Naftogaz said in mid-February.

As a result of the attacks and very low storage levels, Ukraine has been forced to import more European gas in recent weeks.

Before the targeting of gas production, Ukraine had mostly managed to maintain gas output levels.

Ukraine's total gas production rose in 2024 to 19.1 Bcm, according to gas industry association AGPU. The 19.1 Bcm production volume last year was higher than the 2023 output of 18.7 Bcm, which itself was up from 18.5 Bcm in 2022.