Ukraine has achieved its winter gas storage target of 14.7 billion cubic metres (bcm), the energy ministry said on Tuesday.
“The heating season (target) was fulfilled ahead of schedule,” the ministry said on the Telegram messaging app.
Ukraine uses little natural gas to produce electricity but relies on the fuel for heating and industry – sectors vulnerable should Russian strikes damage infrastructure.
Ukraine, which was invaded by major energy supplier Russia in February last year, does not import gas directly from Russia, but Ukrainian pipelines still carry Russian gas to Europe.
Ukraine began the previous heating season that ended in April with 14.1 bcm of gas in reserves. By mid-April, around 9 bcm remained.
Ukrainian storage facilities are mainly located in the western part of the country and can store around 30 bcm of gas.
The ministry said last week foreign traders had stored 1.8 bcm of gas in Ukraine ahead of the winter season.
Ukrainian energy officials have said previously that the country’s gas consumption has fallen by almost 40% due to the war and damage done to industrial facilities.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; editing by Jason Neely)