By Nicholas Earl
Russia attacked Ukrainian oil and gas facilities in eastern Ukraine overnight, confirmed Ukrainian energy giant Naftogaz.
There have not been any reported casualties, with emergency services now grappling with fires at the site.
Oleksiy Chernyshov, chief executive of state-run Naftogaz, said the damage would be assessed after emergency services finished their work, and that everything that had been damaged would be restored.
The company said in a statement: “Enemy missiles hit one of the facilities in the Kharkiv region. A large-scale fire broke out at the site, its elimination is currently underway. There are no casualties.”
Earlier this month, the energy boss revealed that Russian attacks on Ukraine had damaged 350 natural gas facilities in the country – though production should be largely restored by the end of the year.
He predicted at the time that the loss of gas production capacity amounted to a value of around $700m.
Production of gas that is critical for heating is chiefly concentrated in eastern Ukraine, home to some of the heaviest fighting since Russia invaded in February.
Earlier this winter, Naftogaz told City A.M. it still fears a shortfall of 1-3bn cubic meters of gas, which could lead to a domestic supply crunch.
While this is less than the 5.8bn cubic meter deficit it was forecasting in June, Ukraine is continuing to suffer from its lack of purchasing power.
Media adviser Svitlana Zalishchuk argued that Ukraine simply cannot afford to pay market rates for oil and gas, and that it would not be possible to raise bills on consumers – with the United Nations forecasting as many as 16m people have either been displaced or are in need of humanitarian support.
Zalishchuk called on international financial institutions such as the European Investment Bank to help support Ukraine’s needs, alongside grants from countries such as France, Germany, and the US.
She said: “We need not only loans that Naftogaz can use to import gas, but we need direct international financial support that can help Ukrainians, especially those most vulnerable, survive through the winter.”
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