Ukraine is able to cover its energy needs for now - senior parliamentarian

We consume less gas than is produced and even today gas is pumped into underground storage facilities," he said. And secondly, today it's almost May, the season when gas consumption is low." Herus made clear it would be harder to meet Ukraine's energy needs when the weather gets colder.

Ukraine has enough natural gas and electricity to meet its needs at the moment but will find it harder to do so in the late autumn, the head of the Ukrainian parliament's energy committee said on Thursday.

"There are enough gas and electricity resources in the country," Andriy Herus, who heads the Verkhovna Rada's Committee on Energy and Public Utilities, told national television. He made clear that businesses were consuming less energy than usual because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which usually imports about a third of the natural gas is consumed, and that gas was being pumped into storage facilities.

"Today, if we talk about gas volumes, we have enough. We consume less gas than is produced and even today gas is pumped into underground storage facilities," he said. "We must understand today that our economy has fallen sharply, and some companies have stopped operating and have stopped consuming gas. And secondly, today it's almost May, the season when gas consumption is low."

Herus made clear it would be harder to meet Ukraine's energy needs when the weather gets colder. Energy consumption increases in Ukraine because of heating needs from mid-October to mid-April. "It's clear that in November and December we will consume more ... more than we get," he said.