KYIV — Russian forces unleashed a new bombardment on Ukrainian gas infrastructure, which is crucial for the country’s heating and electricity supply ahead of winter.
The Kremlin attacked Ukrainian gas extraction grounds in the Kharkiv, Sumy, and Chernihiv regions three times in the last seven days, with a gas thermal power plant overnight being the latest target, Ukrainian state gas company Naftogaz said in a statement Wednesday.
“These objects have no relation to the military. Russian terrorists are committing another act of terrorism, aiming to deprive Ukraine of gas, heat, and electricity in the winter,” said Sergii Koretskyi, chairman of the Naftogaz board.
“The Russians cannot understand that we cannot be broken and intimidated like this. We support and protect each other. We will restore everything. We will rebuild everything,” Koretskyi added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukrainian gas infrastructure is under heavy pressure from the Kremlin — but he has a plan.
“We have Plan A and Plan B. Under Plan B, if there is, for example, a strong attack on all gas infrastructure, we understand that we have imports then,” Zelenskyy told several journalists in Kyiv last week, providing no further details.
“We know the volume and cost of the necessary imports — this is Plan B. Plan A is when we rely more on our own production. In Plan B, we also know where to find the money required,” he added.
The Oct. 3 strikes on Poltava and Kharkiv, Ukraine’s main gas extraction regions, knocked out some 60 percent of Ukraine’s domestic gas production, Bloomberg reported last week.
Naftogaz reported that it was the largest strike on gas infrastructure since the start of the full-scale invasion — including more than 35 missiles and 60 killer drones. The strike likely forced Kyiv to search for an additional €1.9 billion in urgent gas imports.
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