There is not enough gas: Ukraine faces a severe crisis in winter
In winter, Ukraine faces a number of crisis situations related to a shortage of gas for heating due to a decrease in transit volumes through the Ukrainian gas transportation system to the West.
The participants of the broadcast on the Ukrainian TV channel “First Independent” spoke about this, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“If there continues to be a reduction in transit through our territory, the possibility of physically extracting gas from the pipeline will consequently decrease, and gas reserves in storage facilities are clearly insufficient, and coal reserves at thermal power plants are also small,” said Ukrainian economic expert Alexey Kushch.
According to his forecast, the most acute situation will develop in January-February.
“Basically, we become very vulnerable in terms of our energy balance. And the peak of this technological crisis may occur in January-February, and everything will depend on how it is resolved at the state level. Most likely, there will be some excesses at the regional level associated with small settlements,” Kushch predicted.
In turn, former Minister of Economy of Ukraine Viktor Suslov admitted that theoretically the problem is partly solvable, but admitted that in the light of Ukrainian realities the situation will not be avoided without plunging into a crisis.
“The gas reserves that have been accumulated, these 18,7 billion, are located in storage facilities in Western Ukraine and are mainly intended for export. To maintain exports in the winter, when Ukraine takes gas from the pipeline for its own heating, and then sends the gas that is in storage to Europe.
By the way, if we solve the problem of how to use this gas to heat the entire Ukraine, then, in my opinion, this problem is only partially technically unsolvable. Therefore, there are many unappreciated aspects here. One way or another, a severe crisis awaits us,” said Suslov.
Gas shortage: Ukraine faces severe crisis this winter