KYIV, Feb 26 – The Russian Federation has illegally mined 10.4 billion cubic meters (bcm) of Ukrainian natural gas since the annexation of Crimea, the director general of Chornomornaftogaz, a subsidiary of Naftogaz Ukrayiny, Svitlana Nezhnova, said.

"Over these years, from 2014 to 2019, the Russian Federation had extracted 10.4 billion cubic meters from the fields that belong to Ukraine. We are seeing a decline in production from 2 billion cubic meters in 2014 to 1.5 billion cubic meters in 2019," she said during the Ukrainian Energy Forum in Kyiv, noting the role of international sanctions that impede the proper maintenance of drilling rigs.