When Russia launched an attack with 39 drones on a compressor station in western Ukraine this month, Ukraine realized that the target of the attacks had changed.
The attack came less than two weeks after Ukraine reached a deal to buy natural gas from Azerbaijan - the first of its kind.
The target of the attack was critical for importing oil from southern Europe through the trans-Balkan corridor to Ukraine.
This was just one of many attacks on natural gas infrastructure in Ukraine this year, in contrast to the attacks carried out in the last three years on the energy grid.
This change has forced Kiev to secure imports, including from Azerbaijan and – indirectly – from the United States.
State-owned Naftogaz, Ukraine's largest gas producer, said its infrastructure was hit more than 100 times in nine separate airstrikes in 2025.
In February, when average daily temperatures in Ukraine were below freezing, Russia hit the Ukrainian sector, preventing it from storing half of its gas. Kiev was forced to import 0.8 billion cubic meters of gas.
Therefore, Ukraine is trying to fill its underground reserves with a capacity of 13.2 billion cubic meters before the heating season. Of these, 4.6 billion cubic meters must come from imports.
Oleksandr Kharchenko, managing director at the Center for Energy Industry Research, a consulting firm based in Kiev, told Radio Free Europe that the situation with domestic gas is "difficult, but under control."
The biggest challenge is not securing liquefied gas, but financing it. The National Bank of Ukraine estimated in April that the state would need to spend $2.9 billion on gas imports by 2025.
"Natural gas infrastructure was not a target of attacks in the early years, but now everything is a game," said Olga Khakova, an energy analyst at the Atlantic Council in Washington, in several responses to Radio Free Europe.
"It is an attempt to destabilize energy security, not only in Ukraine, but throughout Europe. Moscow aims to create chaos within the energy industry."
Russia's attacks on Ukraine's natural gas infrastructure have intensified since the end of a Russian contract to transport oil to Europe through Ukrainian pipelines - a contentious issue even in peacetime - on January 1 of this year.
Volodymyr Omelchenko, director of energy programs at the Razumkov Center, told Radio Free Europe that the attacks are aimed at weakening Ukraine before winter.
"The General Staff of the Russian Army clearly understands that the biggest threat to Ukraine this winter is the lack of natural gas, because there are currently many gaps in Ukrainian gas reserves," Omelchenko said.
Kiev-based political analyst Oleh Saakian said the attacks are part of a Russian strategy to gain an advantage as peace talks take place.
"They are trying to create a suitable informational, propaganda and ideological background for negotiations," he told Radio Free Europe.
"This is nothing but pressure on the civilian population and psychological pressure on the Ukrainian authorities."
The Russian strategy has increased the urgency for Kiev to increase imports and diversify suppliers.
In addition to Azerbaijan, Kiev has signaled that it is interested in purchasing liquefied natural gas from the United States, a worthy political step as US President Donald Trump has made this subject a priority and has called on Ukraine to reimburse the US for the military aid provided.
Andrew Favorov, a US-based businessman who has long worked with Ukraine's gas industry sector, said that signing long-term contracts for the provision of liquefied natural gas from US suppliers is a "clear goal" for Kiev, given the potential for diplomatic gains.
He has suggested that Ukraine could seek financial assistance from the Development Finance Corporation – Washington's investment arm – to secure more favorable loans.
In a statement to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Ukrainian Energy Minister Svitlana Grynchuk said that Ukraine is in talks with American companies, but did not provide further details.
However, it has confirmed that a compressor station in Odessa, which was attacked in August, is part of the infrastructure necessary to import American liquefied natural gas from ports in southern Europe.
The United States is the world's largest exporter of natural gas, and the largest amount is transported in the world in the form of liquefied natural gas.
US liquefied natural gas exports are expected to increase significantly by the end of the decade due to the construction of new storage facilities.
Ukraine's largest private energy company, DTEK, said earlier this year that it was negotiating with American companies for long-term contracts.
This company imported liquefied natural gas from the US for the first time in December last year.
Naftogaz reached an agreement this year to purchase 0.44 billion cubic meters of American liquefied natural gas from Polish energy company Orlen.
Hinson Peters, strategic communications manager at the Center for Liquefied Natural Gas, an American trade group, has confirmed that there is commercial interest from Ukrainian buyers for long-term contracts.
At the same time, Europeans are stepping up efforts to help Ukraine buy oil for the coming winter. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development said earlier this month it would provide a 580 million euro loan to Naftogaz for natural gas purchases.
Norway, Europe's largest supplier of natural gas, has pledged to allocate $100 million to Naftogaz for the same purposes.
How much funding Ukraine will need this year to meet its domestic gas needs will depend on Russia's actions, including whether Moscow will continue to target gas production, storage and transportation facilities with drones and missiles.
