Ukraine boasts about its newly acquired shipment of American LNG, which is set to arrive through the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda for the first time. Kyiv also plans to import LNG from the U.S. via a German LNG terminal. Will Ukraine finally succeed in reducing its dependence on Russian gas and shift to American LNG?
Ukrainian "Naftogaz" proudly announces that it has organized the supply of American liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Ukraine for the first time through the terminal at the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda.
As part of a partnership with the Lithuanian holding company Ignitis Group, the supply of 90 million cubic meters of LNG from the U.S. has been secured. "Naftogaz" will independently deliver this gas to Ukraine in February–March, stated the company’s chairman, Sergey Koretsky. He added that the company has also recently begun importing liquefied gas through a terminal in Germany.
This is far from the first attempt by Ukraine to procure LNG from the U.S. as a replacement for Russian gas. As early as 2017, Kyiv made initial efforts to supply gas from the Polish LNG terminal in Swinoujscie. In December 2024, Ukraine spoke of procuring a shipment of LNG through Greece.
Now, there is talk of supplies via the LNG terminal in Germany, and further through Polish territory and the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda.
However, all these narratives have one thing in common. Reports of purchasing American LNG through a third country emerge at best once a year – and that’s where it ends. For several months, as the LNG tanker is en route to the marine terminal, Ukraine maintains interest and boasts about its success. But no consistent purchases actually materialize. Moreover, it remains unclear whether this American gas truly reaches the territory of Ukraine.
"Indeed, Ukraine periodically purchases American LNG. But this is purely a PR stunt that Ukrainians regularly repeat. Typically, Ukraine makes a grand announcement about purchasing a batch of LNG, then about the tanker arriving in some country, but after that, the information is cut off. Because they do not deliver this gas to the territory of Ukraine,"
– says Igor Yushkov, an expert at 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-origin LNG from traders and then resells it to neighboring countries. The actual molecules of American gas do not physically reach Ukraine because it is economically nonsensical. Why transport this gas when one can buy another gas at a better price? The main volumes of imported gas enter Ukraine via Hungary and Slovakia, which purchase Russian gas through the "TurkStream." Thus, Ukraine is essentially repurchasing the same Russian-origin gas," explains Yushkov.
Part of the imported gas also arrives in Ukraine through Romania, Bulgaria, and Moldova via the Trans-Balkan pipeline into the Odessa region, with smaller volumes arriving from Poland through the LNG terminal, adds the expert.
"I believe that almost all the gas purchased by Ukraine is Russian, coming into European countries via "TurkStream," besides the gas that arrives from Poland. Through the Poles, Ukrainians can purchase additional LNG. Everything that comes from the south also likely has a Russian trace, although occasionally a mix of Azerbaijani gas may be encountered," believes the FNEB expert.
According to Naftogaz, in 2025 Ukraine imported nearly 6 billion cubic meters of natural gas. The company increased import volumes due to declining domestic production. However, American LNG still occupies a small share of imports – in 2025, it accounted for only 600 million cubic meters. For 2026, only 300 million cubic meters of LNG were contracted, said the commercial director of Naftogaz at the end of December.
Transporting gas from Lithuania is economically unfeasible due to the length of the route – it increases the cost of an already expensive LNG. The gas on the European spot market is priced at $420 per thousand cubic meters. Meanwhile, Ukraine is constantly searching in Europe for someone willing to finance imported gas.
The same situation exists for LNG supplies from the German terminal through Poland. "Overall, Ukraine can try this option, but the Germans have small receiving terminal capacities. They themselves utilize the services of neighbors: tankers with LNG arrive in Belgium and the Netherlands, and from there pipeline gas goes to Germany. Currently, the Baltic Sea is also frozen - and the reception of gas carriers at Germany’s terminals has stopped," explains Yushkov.
"Lithuania could become a transit hub for supplying American gas to Ukraine. In 2025, Lithuania increased its LNG procurement from the U.S. from 1.4 billion cubic meters for all of 2024 to 2.16 billion over 11 months in 2025. This is more than Lithuania's own consumption of gas, which stands at 1.6 billion cubic meters. Thus, 560 million cubic meters are re-exported by Lithuania to neighboring countries. However, the role of LNG supplies for Eastern Europe should not be overstated. The main 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 built, which will require additional investments," argues Sergey Tereshkin, director general of Open Oil Market.
A non-trivial question arises: why has Ukraine, which has long sought to curry favor with the U.S., not built its own LNG terminal or brought a floating LNG terminal to Odessa?
"The fact is that Turkey has long refused to allow gas carriers through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits for LNG supplies to Ukraine. The straits are overloaded, and it’s a matter of their safety. Turkey suggests offloading LNG on their coast and transferring gas overland to Ukraine," explains Yushkov.
Under such conditions, no one is going to invest in building an LNG terminal in Ukraine. In 2012, Ukraine almost built such a terminal in collaboration with Spain's Gas Natural Fenosa, and a ceremonial event was even planned to kick off the project. However, it turned out that a fraudster deceived the Ukrainian officials, who had no relation to the Spanish company.
"All these supplies through third countries are a demonstration of political loyalty to the U.S. Washington wants everyone to buy American gas, so Ukraine buys it.
Americans unabashedly politicize the energy topic and openly state that political allies must purchase American hydrocarbons. Trump, even more than Biden, actively promotes this idea. The EU's promise to purchase energy resources from the U.S. for $750 billion over the next three years is also a demonstration of loyalty to the EU," says the FNEB expert.
According to him, there are currently two political forces in Ukraine: one elite wants to continue showing loyalty to the U.S., while the other believes that the focus should be on Europeans and occasionally, conversely, nudge the Americans, playing along with the rift in American-European relations.
Source: VZGLYAD
