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European traders are using only a fraction of Ukraine’s vast natural gas reserves this summer after Russian attacks increased risks and deprived the war-torn country of little revenue.

Ukraine has the largest underground gas storage facilities in Europe and last year offered EU companies valuable space to store their surplus gas before winter.

But following a Russian offensive in the spring that targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, including pumping stations for gas storage, European volumes in June and July fell to just a tenth of the amount stored in the same period last year.

“Continued Russian attacks on Ukrainian storage facilities increase the risk for gas storage,” said Marco Saalfrank, head of Continental Europe trading at the energy group Axpo.

Gas storage facilities in the EU can hold a maximum of around 100 billion cubic metres of natural gas. However, the bloc’s annual demand is between 350 and 500 billion cubic metres, depending on weather and other conditions.

Ukraine offered about 10 billion cubic meters of additional storage capacity last year, and European companies stored more than 2 billion cubic meters before the winter months as the country offered incentives such as cheap storage tariffs.

But this year there have been low feed-ins, even though EU gas storage facilities are 86 percent full – their highest level this year – according to Gas Infrastructure Europe.

According to Argus data, European companies delivered just 15.4 million cubic metres and 51.9 million cubic metres respectively in June and July, compared to 102.7 million cubic metres and 586.6 million cubic metres respectively in the corresponding months last year.

While the actual gas tanks are located deep underground and are thus protected from lightning strikes, damage to above-ground systems used to pump the gas in and out poses a significant risk for dealers.

“The main problem is not that the gas is lost, but that we cannot extract it when we want and need it,” says Saalfrank from Axpo.

State-owned energy company Naftogaz said there had been “several attacks” on the above-ground infrastructure in March and April and that repairs had been carried out. As for the supply and withdrawal of gas, “there are no problems, we are working as usual,” said Oleksiy Chernyshov, CEO of Naftogaz.

Ukraine wants European traders to continue using its gas infrastructure, in part because it brings valuable revenue to its war-torn economy. However, “it is difficult to see” how European traders will return unless there are additional incentives to park gas in Ukraine, said Natasha Fielding, head of European gas pricing at Argus.

Last year, the EU held talks with banks about providing insurance to cover the risks, but these talks have come to nothing.

A senior EU official said the increasing attacks had made such considerations difficult. Ukraine could earn around 200 million euros from European traders who store gas, but the counter-guarantee would have to be 1 billion euros, the official said.

“If you want to support Ukraine, just give them a billion euros,” the official said.

The lucrative price differences of last year have also almost disappeared.

The build-up of gas stocks in Ukrainian storage facilities accelerates in the summer months, when gas prices are low compared to other times of the year. Traders then resell it at a profit when prices rise, typically in the winter months, when heating needs increase demand for natural gas.

Last year, the difference in summer was often more than 20 euros per megawatt hour, but this year it is only around 5 euros/MWh, according to the price reporting agency Argus.

“The price differences are not attractive enough to justify the risk of supplying gas to a war zone,” said Saalfrank of Axpo.