Ukraine boasts about a newly purchased batch of American LNG, which is set to arrive for the first time through the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda. Kyiv is also planning to import LNG from the US via a German LNG terminal. Will Ukraine finally manage to wean itself off Russian gas and transition to American LNG?
Ukrainian Naftogaz proudly announces that it has organised the supply of American liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Ukraine for the first time through the terminal in the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda.
As part of its partnership with the Lithuanian holding company Ignitis Group, a supply of 90 million cubic metres of LNG from the US has been secured. Naftogaz will personally deliver this gas to Ukraine in February-March, stated the head of Naftogaz, Sergey Koretsky. He added that the company has also recently begun importing liquefied gas through a terminal in Germany.
This is far from Ukraine's first attempt to start purchasing LNG from the US instead of Russian gas. As early as 2017, Kyiv made initial attempts to supply gas from the Polish LNG terminal in Swinoujscie. In December 2024, Ukraine discussed acquiring a batch of LNG via Greece.
Now, discussions are circulating regarding supplies through an LNG terminal in Germany and subsequently through Polish territory and the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda.
However, all these narratives share a common thread. Reports of purchasing American LNG through a third country surface at best once a year – and that is where it ends. For several months – while the tanker with LNG makes its way to the maritime terminal – Ukraine maintains interest in it and boasts about the success. Yet, no ongoing purchases actually materialise. Moreover, it remains unclear whether this American gas truly reaches Ukrainian territory.
"Indeed, Ukraine periodically purchases American LNG. But this is merely a PR initiative that Ukrainians repeatedly roll out. Typically, Ukraine grandiosely announces the purchase of an LNG batch, then states that the tanker has arrived in some country, but from there the information suddenly halts. This is because they do not deliver this gas to Ukrainian territory,”
– states Igor Yushkov, an expert from the National Energy Security Fund and the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation.
According to him, the process unfolds as follows: Naftogaz acquires American-sourced LNG from traders and then resells it to neighbouring countries. The physical molecules of American gas do not reach Ukraine, as it is economically nonsensical. Why bring this gas to oneself when one can buy another gas at a more advantageous price? The main volumes of imported gas enter Ukraine through Hungary and Slovakia, which purchase Russian gas via the "Turkish Stream." Thus, Ukraine is essentially repurchasing the same Russian-sourced gas,” explains Yushkov.
A portion of imported gas also reaches Ukraine through Romania, Bulgaria, and Moldova via the Trans-Balkan pipeline into the Odessa region, plus small quantities are coming from Poland through the LNG terminal, the expert adds.
"I believe that practically all gas purchased by Ukraine is Russian, which arrives in European countries through the "Turkish Stream." Other than the gas that comes from Poland. Through Poles, Ukrainians can acquire LNG. Everything that comes from the south is also likely to have a Russian trace, or occasionally may contain a mix of Azerbaijani gas," asserts the FNEB expert.
According to Naftogaz, in 2025, Ukraine imported nearly 6 billion cubic metres of natural gas. The company increased its import volumes due to a reduction in domestic production. However, American LNG still constitutes a small share of the imports – in 2025, it accounted for only 600 million cubic metres. For 2026, merely 300 million cubic metres of LNG had been contracted, stated the Commercial Director of Naftogaz at the end of December.
Transporting gas from Lithuania is economically futile due to the length of the route – this increases the already expensive LNG costs. At the spot European exchange, gas is priced at $420 per thousand cubic metres. At the same time, Ukraine is constantly searching for someone in Europe willing to finance imported gas.
The same situation applies to LNG supplies from the German terminal via Poland. "Overall, Ukraine might try this option, but the Germans have limited receiving terminal volumes. They themselves utilise the services of their neighbours: tankers carrying LNG arrive in Belgium and the Netherlands, and from there pipeline gas goes to Germany. Furthermore, the Baltic Sea is currently freezing over – and the reception of tankers at German terminals has been halted," explains Yushkov.
"Lithuania could become a transit hub for American gas shipments to Ukraine. In 2025, Lithuania increased its purchases of LNG from the US from 1.4 billion cubic metres for the entirety of 2024 to 2.16 billion cubic metres over 11 months in 2025. This exceeds the gas consumption in Lithuania itself, which amounts to 1.6 billion cubic metres. This indicates that Lithuania reexports 560 million cubic metres to neighbouring countries. Yet, the significance of LNG supplies for Eastern Europe should not be overstated. The primary sources of raw materials in the region will continue to be pipeline supplies from Norway, Azerbaijan, and Russia. To enhance the role of LNG, new regasification terminals must be constructed, which will require further investments," considers Sergey Tereshkin, CEO of Open Oil Market.
An intriguing question arises: why has Ukraine, which has long desired to curry favour with the US, not built its own LNG terminal or brought in a floating LNG terminal to Odessa?
"The fact is that Turkey has long refused to allow tanker traffic through the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits for LNG supplies to Ukraine. Given the straits are congested, this is a matter of their security. Turkey proposes offloading LNG on its coast and transshipping the gas overland to Ukraine,” explains Yushkov.
Under these conditions, no one will invest in the construction of an LNG terminal in Ukraine. In 2012, Ukraine was on the verge of building such a terminal in collaboration with the Spanish Gas Natural Fenosa; a ceremonial event for the project's launch had even been planned. However, it turned out that Ukrainian officials had been conned by a fraudster who had no connection to the Spanish company.
"All these supplies through third countries serve as a demonstration of political loyalty to the US. Washington wants everyone to purchase American gas, hence Ukraine is buying."
The Americans unabashedly politicise energy issues and explicitly state that political allies should purchase American hydrocarbons. Trump even advanced this idea more vigorously than Biden. The EU's promise to purchase energy resources from the US for $750 billion over the next three years is also a demonstration of loyalty on behalf of the EU," says the FNEB expert.
According to him, there are currently two political forces in Ukraine: one elite wants to continue demonstrating their loyalty to the US, while others believe that the focus should be on Europeans and occasionally, conversely, critique the Americans, playing into the division in American-European relations.
Source: Vz.ru
