KYIV, Ukraine — Vital supplies of U.S. liquefied natural gas are expected to begin flowing into Ukraine this winter through a pipeline network running across the Balkans, offering the war-torn country a critical energy lifeline as Russian attacks continue to devastate its infrastructure.
The agreement was confirmed after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Athens on Sunday.
Greece has been working to expand its capacity to receive American LNG at its terminals, part of a broader regional effort to reduce dependence on Russian gas.
Mitsotakis recently noted that the increased flow of U.S. LNG is intended to “replace Russian gas in the region,” aligning with the European Commission’s plan to ban all Russian gas imports by the end of 2027.
Speaking in Athens, Zelensky said deliveries of American LNG to Ukraine would begin in January. He explained that the continued destruction of energy facilities by Russian strikes has forced Ukraine to rely heavily on imported gas in winter.
“We rebuild each time the Russians destroy,” he said, “but this truly requires time, much effort, equipment and, regarding gas… imports to compensate for the destruction by the Russians of our own production.”
Mitsotakis described Greece’s role as increasingly central to Ukraine’s energy security. “Greece is becoming an energy security provider for your homeland,” he told the Ukrainian president during their meeting.
To finance the new gas imports, Ukraine has allocated funds secured through European Commission guarantees, loans from European partner institutions, and financing from Ukrainian banks. According to figures cited by Reuters, the total cost of covering Ukraine’s winter gas needs through March is expected to reach nearly €2 billion ($2.3 billion).
The gas shipments will be transported through the Soviet-era Trans-Balkan pipeline, which links Greece’s LNG terminals with Ukraine via Bulgaria, Romania, and Moldova. Ukraine has relied on similar reverse-flow arrangements since 2015, when it stopped purchasing Russian gas directly.
The energy agreement comes at a time of renewed military escalation. Overnight, six people were reported killed in Russian attacks across the Kharkiv, Kherson, and Donetsk regions.
Russia’s military claimed to have captured three more Ukrainian villages — one each in Kharkiv, Donetsk, and Dnipropetrovsk — though none of these battlefield reports have been independently verified.
From Athens, Zelensky travelled to France for high-level talks with President Emmanuel Macron, including discussions on a major air-defence package. Upon his arrival at Villacoublay airbase near Paris, he was scheduled to inspect Rafale fighter jets, the SAMP-T air-defence system, and several drone systems.
He was also set to review the early headquarters of a proposed multinational military mission that could one day monitor a potential Ukraine-Russia ceasefire.
As the war approaches its third year, tens of thousands of soldiers have been killed or injured, and millions of Ukrainian civilians have been displaced. The new LNG agreement marks one of several international efforts aimed at stabilising Ukraine’s basic infrastructure as the conflict continues.
