Ukraine needs help from international partners to strengthen its air defense to protect its underground gas storage facilities. This was stated by Oleksiy Chernyshov, Chairman of the Board of Naftogaz of Ukraine, in an interview with the Financial Times , UNN reports.
Details
According to him, Ukraine will need a lot of air defense to protect its infrastructure.
Chernyshov said that gas storage facilities in western Ukraine have been attacked several times in recent months. However, so far only the above-ground facilities have been damaged. The storages themselves, which are located up to 3 km underground, were not damaged.
Spain to send Patriot missiles to Ukraine - Spanish Defense Ministry26.04.24, 21:14
The publication noted that Ukraine still provides a transit route to Europe for Russian pipeline gas.Ukrainian PSGs provided European traders with valuable storage space for excess gas on the eve of last winter, when storage facilities in the EU were filled to capacity.
He emphasized that U.S. assistance will strengthen the country's defense capabilities, but that a large number of air defense systems are needed to further protect the company's infrastructure and assets
We may find ourselves in a situation where we will still need more air defense capabilities and the EU countries should certainly play a crucial role in providing this assistance
Addendum
Naftogaz is convinced that the EU is interested in protecting Ukraine's storage, transportation, and production facilities, as the gas infrastructure is well integrated into the European energy system.
It is also noted that the Naftogaz group wants to increase the volume of European natural gas stored in Ukraine from 2.5 billion cubic meters last year to 4 billion this winter.
Recall
Against the backdrop of Russian missile attacks, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin called on countries with Patriot air defense systems to transfer them to Ukraine.