KYIV, May 6 - Ukraine is ready to provide foreign customers with 50% (15 billion cubic meters) of its underground gas storage (UGS) capacity to create reserves for the coming winter, Energy Minister Herman Haluschenko said.

We have time before winter, which must be used to jointly purchase gas from alternative sources and pump it into storage facilities, including Ukrainian ones, where we are able to reserve at least 15 billion cubic meters for our partners," he wrote on his Facebook page.

Haluschenko also called on European countries to minimize the use of natural gas for electricity generation, using the possibilities of other generations.

The Ukrainian energy system is now part of the unified energy system of Europe, and we can export electricity, which is 70% produced from hydrocarbon-independent nuclear generation and renewable sources," the minister said.

As of the beginning of April 2022, there were about 9 billion cubic meters of gas in Ukraine's UGS with a total design capacity of 31 billion cubic meters. (om/ez)