Ukraine plans to increase gas imports by about 30% due to Russian attacks – energy minister
Ukraine is working to increase its gas import capacity by roughly 30% following recent large-scale Russian attacks on gas infrastructure, Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk said.
"We plan, if possible, to boost import capacity by another 30%. Everything will depend on how quickly we can restore operations. We must thank our power engineers and gas workers – they probably restore facilities faster than anyone in the world. The quicker we manage to bring sites back online, the less gas we'll need to import," Hrynchuk said at a briefing in Kyiv on Tuesday.
According to her, the Ministry of Energy is currently in talks with all partners to ensure financial resources for imports.
"We've just had a meeting with G7 ambassadors, and earlier – meetings with colleagues and partners from various countries, involving the European Commission. One of the topics was indeed the need for additional gas imports. We also discussed expanding credit lines guaranteed by the European Commission and, with some countries, the possibility of providing grant-based support for gas imports," Hrynchuk said.
She added that the ministry is also negotiating with partners to increase the supply of energy equipment.
"We have reserves, but given the intensity of Russian attacks, we see the need to build them up," the minister explained.