Russian strike on Lviv gas hub signals rising tensions
The Russian military attacked the most extensive underground gas storage facilities in the Lviv region. The timing and location of the attack are not coincidental. Ukraine sought assistance from Poland precisely to protect these installations. A strike occurring the day after President Zelensky's visit is a clear signal.
Russian forces launched an attack on gas infrastructure in the city of Stryi, located in the Lviv region. According to "Kommersant," the target was the largest underground gas storage in Ukraine.
The Russian Ministry of Defence claims that the attack on Ukrainian gas infrastructure was a response to recent missile attacks using ATACMS and Storm Shadow systems on Russian energy facilities, including a compressor station in Kuban.
Russian attacks on energy facilities aim to undermine Ukraine's capacity to function under challenging conditions, particularly during the heating season.
Earlier, Ukraine requested Poland to protect the facilities in the Stryi region. The attack, one day after President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to Warsaw, can therefore be seen as an attempt to disrupt Kyiv-Warsaw relations.
The storage facilities in Stryi are the largest complex in Europe, capable of holding approximately 17 billion cubic metres of gas, and serve as a key hub. For comparison, the capacity of all Polish PGNiG storage facilities is just over 3 billion cubic metres, which is more than five times smaller than those located in the Lviv region.
Within a radius of just 100 kilometres, there are Polish storage facilities and a gas network. Also significant is the fact that at the end of last year, Ukrainian Deputy Energy Minister Nikolay Kolesnyk proposed to Poland a joint project, which could make Europe independent of Russian resources.
Ukrainian underground gas storage and Polish maritime infrastructure - enabling the reception of liquefied LNG gas - could become the foundation for creating an Eastern European hub.
Strikes deep into Russia
Ukrainian retaliatory attacks on Russian infrastructure are a response to Russia's targeting of Ukraine's critical resources. These actions demonstrate Kyiv's determination in responding to Russian threats.
Alongside military actions, Russia faces severe consequences on the economic front due to targeted attacks on its gas and oil infrastructure nodes.
The attack on the Ust-Luga port, although symbolic, revealed how poorly secured the key export points are, threatening Russia's economic stability if such actions intensify.
