Ukraine's gas reserves hit highest level since 2020 ahead of winter
Ukraine's underground gas storage facilities hold 16 billion cubic meters of gas, the highest level since 2020, according to acting Naftogaz head Serhiy Fedorenko. The figure exceeds the government's 13.2 bcm winter threshold, but comes as Russia has struck Naftogaz infrastructure more than 400 times since the start of the year — twice the frequency of all of 2025 — and as the heating season ahead is expected to be one of the most difficult since the full-scale invasion began.
Key points
- Ukraine's underground gas storage holds 16 bcm of gas, the highest level since 2020
- Russian attacks on Naftogaz facilities exceeded 400 since the start of the year, twice the rate of all of 2025
- Government's winter threshold is 13.2 bcm; previous heating season began with under 14 bcm
- Ukraine has not bought Russian gas directly since 2015 and imports via Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary
- Naftogaz contracted over 1 bcm for this season earlier than usual, about a quarter of it LNG
- Kyiv has offered the EU roughly one third of its ~30 bcm storage capacity for European reserves
- Industrial production fell 6.1% year-on-year in August, with metallurgy down 48.6%
Why it matters
Reserves above the government's 13.2 bcm winter threshold give Ukraine a stronger buffer heading into what is expected to be one of the hardest heating seasons since the start of the full-scale invasion. The more than doubling of Russian attacks on Naftogaz infrastructure since the start of the year raises the risk of disruption, and the sharp drop in industrial output — metallurgy down 48.6% year-on-year in August — illustrates how strikes on energy and heavy industry are feeding into the broader economy. At the same time, Kyiv is offering the EU roughly one third of Europe's largest underground storage capacity, positioning Ukrainian storage as a regional asset while EU reserves sit at their lowest level since 2011.
What happened
Ukraine's underground gas storage facilities hold 16 bcm of gas ahead of winter, the highest level since 2020, acting Naftogaz head Serhiy Fedorenko told Reuters. The volume exceeds the government's stated 13.2 bcm winter threshold, and is well above the sub-14 bcm starting point of the previous heating season. Fedorenko said Naftogaz has begun gas purchases earlier this year and already contracted more than 1 bcm, roughly a quarter of it LNG; deliveries under some contracts run from December through March. Ukraine has not bought Russian gas directly since 2015 and imports primarily via Poland, Slovakia and Hungary. Since the start of the year, Russia has struck Naftogaz production, processing, oil and gas transportation and frontline thermal power plant facilities more than 400 times — twice the frequency of all of 2025. Reuters describes the coming heating season as potentially the hardest in nearly five years of full-scale invasion. Last winter, severe frosts and Russian strikes on storage forced Naftogaz to import a record 7.8 bcm over 2025 and the first quarter of 2026. Fedorenko estimated 2026 consumption at around 20 bcm (2025: ~21 bcm) but noted wartime conditions make forecasting difficult. Ukraine has Europe's largest underground storage, about 30 bcm in total, with reservoirs more than a kilometer underground; Kyiv has proposed to the EU that it use roughly one third of that capacity for European reserves.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian reporting frames the 16 bcm level as a domestic success that exceeds the government's winter threshold and reflects active preparation rather than crisis. Coverage highlights Naftogaz's earlier-than-usual contracting, the share of LNG in the import mix, and the scale of Russian attacks on energy infrastructure, quoting Fedorenko on protective measures around storage and production sites. The framing centers on resilience and on the country's role as a potential regional gas storage hub.
How international sources describe it
The Reuters-sourced account, relayed in Ukrainian, situates the reserve figure within the broader war context, noting that the coming heating season may be the hardest in nearly five years of full-scale invasion because of intensified Russian strikes on energy infrastructure. It foregrounds the European dimension: Kyiv's proposal to let EU countries store gas in Ukrainian facilities, the depth-based protection of Ukrainian storage, and the comparison with EU-wide storage levels that are at their lowest since 2011, with a possible winter deficit of 14 bcm.
Where reporting differs
Two Ukrainian outlets (ZN.UA and ЛІГА.net LB.ua) quote Fedorenko with slightly different formulations about protective measures: one has "We are strengthening protection and digging in," while the other has only "We are strengthening protection."
Background
Ukraine has Europe's largest underground gas storage capacity at about 30 bcm, with reservoirs located more than a kilometer underground, which Naftogaz says protects stored gas from strikes. The country has not bought Russian gas directly since 2015 and imports primarily via Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary. Last winter Naftogaz imported a record 7.8 bcm after severe cold and Russian strikes on storage depleted reserves, and the previous heating season began with reserves under 14 bcm. EU countries are entering winter with storage at slightly under 70% of capacity, the lowest level since 2011, and an EU winter deficit could reach 14 bcm. Naftogaz's acting head estimates Ukrainian gas consumption at roughly 20 bcm in 2026 and 21 bcm in 2025, but cautioned that wartime conditions make precise forecasting difficult.