On February 13, 2025, Ukraine's natural gas imports saw a significant increase, primarily from EU member countries Hungary and Slovakia. This was an emergency response to the cold weather and rapidly declining domestic gas reserves. According to Ukraine's gas pipeline operator, Ukraine's gas imports on the 13th increased by 10% compared to the previous trading day, reaching ten times the import volume of early February.
Specifically, Ukraine imported 9.8 million cubic meters of natural gas from Hungary and 11.6 million cubic meters from Slovakia, and additionally imported 3.5 million cubic meters from Poland. Ukraine's Minister of Energy, Herman Galushchenko, previously stated that during the current heating season, Ukraine is expected to need to import more than 1 billion cubic meters of natural gas to meet domestic energy needs.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's Foreign Minister, Serhiy Kyslytsia, indicated that Ukraine is also considering purchasing liquefied natural gas (LNG) to further secure energy supplies, especially sourcing LNG from the United States. This move would provide Ukraine with more energy security during the winter and reduce the risk of relying on a single supplier.
The increase in Ukraine's energy demand is mainly driven by cold weather, particularly the sharp drop in winter temperatures, which has led to a surge in natural gas consumption. With domestic gas reserves depleting, Ukraine must rely on neighboring countries to import more energy to address the sustained heating demand and energy security challenges.
