Ukraine's Natural Gas Supply Depends on Hungary

Despite relying heavily on Hungary for its energy preparedness ahead of the winter heating season, Ukraine continues to ignore issues raised by the Hungarian government. Latest data reveal that more than one-third of Ukraine’s natural gas imports are currently coming from Hungary to the country at war.

Illustration (Source: Pixabay)

Ukraine's natural gas imports hit a nearly two-year high in July, according to data released by the Ukrainian consultancy firm EXPRO. A total of 833 million cubic meters of gas was imported into the country that month. This volume is one and a half times higher than the import level in June and sixteen times greater than that of the same period last year. The significant increase is related to ongoing preparations for the autumn-winter heating season.

Ukraine's gas imports are being used to fill underground storage facilities. Ukrainian Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk aims to have 13.2 billion cubic meters of gas in storage by the end of October (Photo: AFP)

The analysis shows that a substantial portion—more than one-third (36%)—of these imports came from Hungary.

In addition to Hungary, large volumes of gas were also imported via Slovakia and Poland.

When looking at Ukraine’s total gas imports for the year 2025 so far, Hungary’s role becomes even more striking: half of all natural gas imported into Ukraine has come from Hungary.

In the first seven months of 2025, Ukraine's natural gas imports increased thirteenfold compared to the same period in the previous year, reaching 2.93 billion cubic meters. According to Ukrainian Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk, the country’s goal is to stockpile at least 13.2 billion cubic meters of gas in underground storage by November 1.

Based on data from EXPRO, Ukraine will need to import an additional 1.7 billion cubic meters of natural gas between August and October in order to meet that goal.

Cover photo: Illustration (Source: Pixabay)