Russia struck Ukraine’s gas producer 13 times in a single week, forcing some wells offline
The drone-and-missile barrage more than doubled the company's strike count from a comparable week last winter, well before the heating season begins.
Russian assaults on Ukraine's state-owned Naftogaz Group facilities reached a striking 13 instances in a single week, targeting multiple regions with drones and missiles, according to the company's report on August 17. The attacks struck gas extraction infrastructure and inflicted severe damage on equipment, reducing production capacity and causing a portion of output to be cut.
Despite no casualties among workers this time, the strikes are part of a growing Russian campaign involving drones and missiles targeting Ukraine's oil and gas production, intensifying as winter approaches. Since the beginning of 2026, Naftogaz has documented 293 strikes on its facilities. Acting Naftogaz CEO Serhii Fedorenko stated that the strikes aim to inflict maximum damage on Ukraine's infrastructure ahead of the upcoming heating season.
Russian strikes have destroyed 37 sites in the network over the first seven months of 2026, including 32 Ukrnafta filling stations and five Ukrhazvydobuvannia complexes. The attacks have a human cost, with EP reporting 312 workers killed across the group since 2022. Naftogaz highlighted its largest strike on gas production infrastructure, which involved 35 missiles and 60 drones targeting facilities in the Kharkiv and Poltava regions during October 2025.
Throughout the ongoing war, Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukraine's energy grid each winter, causing significant damage or destruction to the country's energy systems. The attacks in 2025 alone targeted energy sites over 600 times, damaging all 15 of the nation's thermal plants. The energy strikes have led to nationwide blackouts and disrupted heating in homes facing sub-zero temperatures.
This pattern of Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure is expected to continue into the upcoming winter, with Ukraine receiving significantly fewer air-defense missiles compared to the previous year. Ukraine is responding with its own attacks on Russian refineries and military plants, but the consequences for civilians include another winter of cold homes, rationed power, and threatened water supplies.
Written by urgent.news from Euromaidan Press's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
