Ukraine has accumulated enough gas for winter: MP rules out rolling outages but acknowledges risks of attacks on infrastructure

According to a statement by People's Deputy and member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Energy and Housing and Communal Services, Serhiy Hnatiak (Nahorniak), Ukraine has stored in its underground gas storage (UGS) facilities volumes sufficient to get through the upcoming heating season. The parliamentarian said this on a TV marathon, emphasizing that "there is currently enough gas injected into the storage facilities to get through the winter." The statement came against the backdrop of the country's energy system preparing for the autumn–winter period of 2026/2027, at a time when ensuring the population and the heating and communal services sector with resources remains one of the government's key priorities.

Volumes in UGS and guarantees for the population

Hnatiak drew attention to the fact that gas must be supplied both to heating and communal services enterprises responsible for delivering heat to multi-story residential buildings and to private households using natural gas for individual heating. The deputy categorically ruled out the scenario of "rolling outages" or hourly gas supply: "There will be no rolling outages or hourly gas supply — that certainly will not happen." Thus, provided that current volumes in the storage facilities are maintained and there are no large-scale damages to the trunk pipelines, no systemic disruptions in resource supply are forecast.

Risks related to infrastructure

At the same time, the parliamentarian did not hide that threats to uninterrupted gas supply do exist. In his words, the risks are linked not so much to the volume of the accumulated resource as to possible new attacks on the infrastructure through which gas is delivered to end consumers. "Risks, of course, exist throughout the country, but there should be no disruptions in gas supply," Hnatiak noted. In the event of damage to trunk or distribution pipelines, gas workers will have to quickly restore logistics, which may lead to local and temporary restrictions in certain regions, but not to a nationwide shortage.

The issue of controlled gas exports

Against the backdrop of the discussion of UGS reserves, the question of the possibility of controlled exports of part of Ukraine's gas has resurfaced in the public sphere. Volodymyr Omelchenko, Director of the Energy and Infrastructure Programs at the Razumkov Centre, previously called for returning to this topic. In his view, the discussion could concern only the sale of a confirmed surplus under the strict condition that the country's domestic needs and winter reserves are fully met. The initiative aims to ensure that Ukraine does not remain solely an importer and consumer, but could monetize excess volumes; however, its implementation directly depends on the dynamics of injection and consumption during the heating period.

Contradictory data

A certain duality can be traced in the statements of the parties involved. On the one hand, Hnatiak asserts that disruptions "certainly will not happen" and that the volumes in the storage facilities are sufficient. On the other hand, he himself acknowledges that the risks of attacks on infrastructure "exist throughout the country," which means that even with full UGS, the physical delivery of gas to consumers could be disrupted. Thus, the "no disruptions" guarantee is qualified by the condition of no large-scale damage to the pipeline network. Moreover, Omelchenko's call to export the surplus logically contradicts the conservative strategy of maximum accumulation: if part of the gas is sold abroad, the safety buffer for the winter period will shrink. For now, both theses coexist in the public discourse without a single coordinated document that fixes threshold volumes below which exports would be automatically frozen.

Context and significance for the heating season

The 2026/2027 heating season will be yet another test for Ukraine's gas transmission system, which has been repeatedly damaged in recent years. The experience of previous winters has shown that, with prompt restoration of damaged sections and a sufficient reserve in the UGS, the system is capable of withstanding local incidents without catastrophic consequences for the population. Hnatiak's statement, made in September 2026, sends an official signal: the authorities expect normal gas throughput during the heating period, and the main efforts are focused on the readiness of emergency crews and reserve routes for resource delivery.