Against the backdrop of shrinking fuel supply channels and the Russian Federation’s increasingly intense attacks on fuel infrastructure, Ukraine needs to build decentralized, small-scale underground storage facilities for petroleum products, according to Serhiy Kuyun, director of the consulting firm A-95.
“There is only one solution—storage in underground facilities. It appears that both the government and private players are already working on this. At the same time, building such infrastructure is at least twice as expensive as above-ground storage tanks,” he wrote on his Facebook page on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, according to the expert, there is currently no government support, not even in the form of deregulation or expedited approval of project documentation, let alone preferential lending and other incentives.
According to Kuyun, when creating underground storage facilities, the goal should not be to build large-scale facilities, as they are more vulnerable to complex missile strikes.
“But if every importer builds its own small storage facilities with a capacity of 3,000–4,000–5,000–10,000 cubic meters, this will already be a much more resilient structure. In any case, however, it’s important to understand that this won’t happen quickly—it will take one and a half to two years if we start today,” he believes.
According to the expert, it is necessary to convey to citizens, municipal institutions, and government organizations, as well as private companies, the need to build up fuel reserves. “A reserve distributed among consumers will help prevent panic buying and an excessive, sudden strain on the supply system in the event of a crisis,” noted the director of A-95.
According to him, Russia has launched new strikes on the bridge in Mayaky (the route from Reni to the “mainland”) and a “Shahed” drone strike on a tanker carrying lubricants on that same route.
“I think that when planning the strategy for securing petroleum products for the coming months, it’s best to forget about the South (…). This means that the entire burden will fall on the land border, which is already at maximum capacity. All of this indicates that the system is becoming less diversified, which carries corresponding risks,” Kuyun wrote.
As he explained, the enemy is gradually cutting off Ukraine’s southern fuel supply route, which amounts to a triple blow: a reduction in supply channels, a decrease in consumption due to the shift from “maritime” exports to “road” transport, and an increase in the burden on the border coupled with a decrease in its capacity for fuel imports.
At the same time, Russia is already attacking not only oil depots in Ukraine but also gas stations with fuel tankers.
As reported, the Ukrainian Oil and Gas Association (NAU) is urging the government to grant the fuel industry access to loans at 10% interest, which can be achieved by extending the scope of Cabinet of Ministers Resolution
No. 594 to all types of businesses for the purpose of creating underground storage tanks for petroleum products as part of the reconstruction of existing oil depots.
This was announced, in particular, by UGA President Yaroslav Starovoitenko during an online meeting with business representatives organized by the parliamentary committee on finance, tax, and customs policy earlier this week.
In July 2026, the state-owned company Ukrnafta increased its diesel fuel imports by 2.4 times compared to July of last year—to nearly 60,000 metric tons—ranking second among the country’s largest importers.
These figures were reported by the “A-95 Consulting Group.” A total of 134 companies imported diesel fuel in July.
The OKKO Group retained first place, importing more than 73,000 metric tons of diesel fuel. Its imports rose by 32% compared to July 2025.
Ukrnafta accounted for about 59,800 metric tons, or approximately 10.6% of the country’s total diesel fuel imports in July.
UPG took third place with 53,200 metric tons. Next came Energo Trade JSC with 50,700 metric tons and WOG with 42,900 metric tons.
Thus, the five largest importers together imported about 280,000 metric tons of diesel fuel—nearly half of the total volume of supplies to Ukraine in July.
Among the major market players, the Western Fuel and Energy Company (ZPEK) demonstrated the highest growth rate, increasing its imports by a factor of 5.3—to approximately 32,000 metric tons.
The sharp increase in Ukrnafta’s purchases comes amid its growing role in the Ukrainian petroleum products market following the expansion of its own network of gas stations and trading operations.
Overall, Ukraine imported 562,000 metric tons of diesel fuel in July—5% more than a year earlier.
However, despite the rise in imports, A-95 reported a fuel shortage in the market. Analysts cite several reasons for this, including increased demand following a rise in global prices, higher purchases by industrial and private consumers, and increased consumption due to the shift in agricultural exports toward road and rail transport.
In August, analysts expect the situation to gradually normalize thanks to a decline in global prices and an increase in fuel supply.
Transportation prices in Ukraine in July 2026 were 18.6% higher than a year earlier, according to data from the State Statistics Service. In just one month, transportation prices rose by 1.3%. The most significant increase was recorded in passenger road transportation—up 6% in July and 30.8% compared to July 2025.
Overall, transportation services rose in price by 28.9% over the year and by 25.7% since the beginning of 2026. Passenger rail transportation became 2.7% more expensive over the month and 15.5% more expensive over the year.
Another significant factor remains the cost of fuel. In July, fuel and lubricants became 0.1% cheaper compared to June; however, compared to July of last year, they were 28% more expensive, and since the beginning of the year—26.5% more expensive.
Thus, transportation costs are rising significantly faster than the overall consumer market: annual inflation in Ukraine stood at 7.7% in July, while transportation inflation was 18.6% and transportation services inflation was 28.9%.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has so far rejected the idea of mobile gas stations in order to protect consumers from low-quality fuel and avoid risks related to tax payments, but gas station operating schedules will be revised, according to Serhiy Kuyun, director of the consulting firm “A-95.”
“The idea of mobile gas stations has been put on hold to avoid facing the situation currently unfolding in Russia, where many people no longer drive anywhere due to the authorization to sell low-quality fuel. Moreover, the state’s need for fuel taxes hasn’t gone away, and in this chaos, it will be even harder to collect them,” Kuyun wrote on his Facebook page on Friday.
At the same time, as he noted, certain measures regarding gas station operations under shelling were discussed at a recent meeting with the prime minister.
“At the meeting, representatives of the gas station network assured that they would continue operating, as they have gradually adapted to the new realities. But operating hours will obviously be changed (shortened), and service operations in dangerous areas will be temporarily suspended… The less often and the less time you spend at a gas station, the better,” Kuyun noted.
He also noted that the issue of fuel delivery remains critical, as the enemy has begun targeting fuel tankers.
The director of “A-95” noted that, according to estimates, up to 200 gas stations and oil depots have already been damaged, including four oil depots and nine “OKKO” gas stations, 22 “WOG” facilities, and 12 “Ukrnafta” facilities.
As previously reported, on July 7, the Prime Minister of Ukraine held a meeting with oil traders to discuss the necessary measures to ensure continued fuel supplies to frontline regions amid ongoing Russian attacks on gas stations and fuel complexes.
At the time, Danylo Getmantsev, chairman of the Verkhovna Rada’s Tax Committee, noted following the meeting that the government and market representatives have a clear plan of action to ensure uninterrupted supplies and prevent losses. He also announced that the necessary decisions would be adopted in the near future.
The Parallel gas station chain increased its fuel sales by 1.5 times in the January–March quarter of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025, the company told *EnergoReform*.
In addition, Parallel launched its renovated gas stations following modernization.
The company notes that all of this was the main reason for the nearly twofold increase in taxes paid during this period—738 million UAH, which is 1.8 times higher than the corresponding figure from last year.
At the same time, the bulk of tax payments consisted of customs duties.
“The total amount of import VAT, excise tax, and customs duties exceeded 700 million UAH. For the same period in 2025, this figure reached nearly 400 million UAH. The difference is primarily explained by an increase in purchases of imported fuel and new excise tax rates that took effect on January 1, 2026,” Parallel noted.
It is also noted that corporate income tax increased 3.5-fold compared to the first quarter of 2025, but its share in total tax revenue does not exceed 2%. The company explained this by the fact that the main cash flow goes to suppliers, the state, and the company’s employees.
Regarding the latter, the company noted that payments for personal income tax, the unified social contribution, and the military levy have nearly doubled.
“This is due to the company’s policy of raising wages and preserving jobs during a period of instability in the fuel market,” the company added.
As Parallel owner and CEO Alexander Dubinin commented, the first-quarter results demonstrated the chain’s growing popularity among motorists, and the significant improvement in business profitability was achieved thanks to strategic investments made in previous years and measures to enhance management efficiency.
“Behind this non-trivial task lie serious investments and the painstaking work of a team focused on customer needs,” Dubinin emphasized.
As reported, by July 2025, the number of gas stations under the Parallel brand had increased to 76 stations across 8 regions. Currently, 96 gas stations are operating in 17 regions.
Before the war, the Parallel network consisted of 132 gas stations. As a result of the full-scale invasion, Parallel lost or suspended operations at most of its facilities.
In the first half of 2025, it paid over 724 million to budgets at all levels: 414 million UAH in excise tax, 278 million UAH in VAT, 13 million UAH in income tax, and 2.4 million UAH in military tax.
Parallel is a member of the Ukrainian Oil and Gas Association and ranks among the top 10 largest Ukrainian fuel importers.
State-owned Oschadbank and the UPG gas station chain have signed a cooperation agreement that provides for business loans on special terms for the purchase of motor fuel, according to Yuriy Voychak, director of Oschadbank’s sales department.
“We were the first among all Ukrainian banks to sign a cooperation agreement that allows all UPG customers who need it to purchase fuel using credit funds. Loan terms: 0.01% per annum, for up to 12 months, unsecured. The loan amount is up to 20 million UAH,“ Voychak said during the Energy Finance forum organized by Oschadbank in Kyiv on Wednesday.
”This means that farmers or other UPG clients can apply for financing. We have liquidity, we have sufficient funds, the interest rate is minimal, and the loan is provided without collateral—the procedure is as simple as possible,” the bank representative explained.
He noted that the bank and the network are expecting loan applications from businesses. Voychak clarified that the agreement between the bank and UPG was signed about a month ago.
In a comment to Energoreforma, he noted that the bank is negotiating with other networks to conclude similar agreements.
“WOG and OKKO have started approaching us. We are in negotiations,” said Voychak.
According to him, such an agreement creates a three-way benefit: the client has fuel, the bank has a client to lend to, and the gas station network increases its fuel sales.
UPG network owner Volodymyr Petrenko told Energoreforma that, according to his information, approximately 60 million UAH worth of fuel has already been sold under the loan agreement.
“After the rise in fuel prices, roughly twice as much money is needed to purchase it. Thanks to the loan, we can avoid using working capital for this. Our goal is to give consumers the opportunity to purchase the fuel we import from the U.S. and appreciate its high quality,” said Petrenko.
As reported, UPG (Ukrainian Petrol Group) is a Ukrainian group of companies specializing in the trade of petroleum products. UPG ranks among the top three largest operators in Ukraine by number of stations. The group has its own logistics infrastructure and conducts direct fuel supplies from leading refineries in Europe and the U.S. The founder of UPG is Volodymyr Petrenko.
Earlier, Oschadbank noted in its press release regarding a new business program with UPG—which allows entrepreneurs to purchase fuel for seasonal work or ongoing operations without straining working capital—that its main advantage is a preferential interest rate of 0.01% per annum for the first four months of the loan.
BUSINESS, FUEL, LENDING, OSCHADBANK, UPG
