Ukraine works to restore gas, energy supply after overnight Russian attack

Ukraine is working to restore gas and energy supplies "as soon as possible" after Russia targeted transport systems in overnight attacks Aug. 26-27 in the Sumy, Poltava, Donetsk, Chernihiv, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia regions, the country's Ministry of Energy said in an Aug. 27 statement.

"Assessment of the damage caused is underway," it said. "Emergency and rescue services are working at the site of the hits."

Gas transportation infrastructure facilities in the Poltava region in eastern Ukraine saw "significant damage," the ministry said.

In Sumy, near the Russian border, a strike from an unmanned aerial vehicle damaged equipment at a "key" substation and left "a significant part of the city and industrial consumers" without electricity, according to the ministry.

"We regard the Russian attacks as a continuation of the deliberate policy of the Russian Federation to destroy the civilian infrastructure of Ukraine on the eve of the heating season," the ministry said. "This is another act of energy terror directed against the civilian population."

In a separate update on the Ukrainian power system on the morning of Aug. 27, the ministry said it was "balanced [and] there are no planned restrictions for consumers."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy characterized the strikes as the latest example of Russia's determination to sustain the fighting. "The Russians continue the war and ignore the world's calls to stop the killings and destruction," he wrote in an Aug. 27 post on X. "New steps are needed to increase pressure on Russia to stop the attacks and to ensure real security guarantees. We are working with our partners to exert such pressure."

A spokesperson for Ukraine's state-owned oil and gas company Naftogaz declined to comment further on the attacks "for security reasons."

String of attacks

The overnight strikes are the latest in a recent string of attacks targeting Ukrainian gas infrastructure.

Last week, Russia directed attacks at several parts of the gas network, hitting a transmission system facility, a gas distribution station and ground infrastructure.

Earlier in the month, it targeted a Ukrainian gas compressor station close to the Romanian border.

The compressor station is part of the route connecting Greek LNG terminals with Ukrainian gas storage facilities through the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline. Despite the attack, flows have continued as normal.

Ahead of the winter, Ukraine has focused on building gas storage stocks.

According to data from S&P Global Energy, total Ukrainian gas stocks reached about 10.7 Bcm as of Aug. 25, up from 5.3 Bcm on April 20 when the injection season began.

The country has recently announced several agreements to support gas restocking, including a Eur500 million ($580 million) loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and nearly $100 million from the Norwegian government, it said.

Last week, Poland's largest energy company Orlen announced plans to supply Ukraine some 100 million cu m/month of gas. The company has been supplying energy to Ukraine since 2007 and is the largest fuel supplier on the Ukrainian market.

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed the TTF front-month gas price at Eur33.265/MWh on Aug. 26, down 0.3% on the day.