Ukraine gas infrastructure under threat after Russian strike
The Russian military attacked the most extensive underground gas storage facilities in the Lviv region. The timing and location of the attack are not accidental. Ukraine specifically requested protection for these installations from Poland. A strike the day after President Zelensky's visit is a clear signal.
Russian forces carried out an attack on gas infrastructure in the city of Stryi in the Lviv region. According to "Kommersant," the target was Ukraine's largest underground gas storage facility.
The Russian Ministry of Defense claims that the attack on the Ukrainian gas infrastructure was retaliation for recent missile attacks using ATACMS and Storm Shadow systems on Russian energy facilities, including a compressor station in Kuban.
Russian attacks on energy facilities aim to undermine Ukraine's ability to operate under challenging conditions, especially during the heating season.
Earlier, Ukraine asked Poland to protect facilities in the Stryi region. The attack, which occurred a day after President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to Warsaw, can, therefore, be seen as an attempt to undermine Kyiv-Warsaw relations.
The storage facilities in Stryi form the largest complex in Europe, capable of holding 17 billion cubic metres of gas. They are a key hub. By comparison, all Polish PGNiG storage capacity is just over 3 billion cubic metres, significantly smaller than those in the Lviv region.
Polish storage facilities and a gas network are located within a radius of about 100 kilometres. Also noteworthy is that at the end of last year, Ukrainian Deputy Energy Minister Nikolay Kolesnyk proposed to Poland a joint project that could make Europe independent of Russian resources.
Ukrainian underground gas storage and Polish maritime infrastructure, which can receive liquefied LNG gas, could form the foundation for creating an Eastern European hub.
Strikes deep into Russia
Ukrainian retaliatory attacks on Russian infrastructure are a response to Russia's shelling of Ukraine's critical resources. These actions demonstrate Kyiv's determination to respond to Russian threats.
In addition to military actions, Russia faces severe economic consequences due to targeted attacks on its gas and oil infrastructure nodes.
Although symbolic, the attack on the Ust-Luga port highlighted how poorly secured key export points are, threatening Russia's economic stability if such actions intensify.
