The price of natural gas in Europe touched its highest level since December 2022, a day after a Ukrainian drone strike on the remote Yamalo-Nenets region of Russia injected a new source of anxiety into global energy markets.

The benchmark Dutch TTF contract was recently trading at 81.58 euros per megawatt-hour, up about 3% from yesterday's settle.

Ukraine's drones flew more than 1,900 miles on Wednesday to hit a gas condensate processing plant in the town of Novy Urengoy, setting a new distance record for such strikes, according to Fire Point, the manufacturer of the drones. The Russian region's governor said a drone had been shot down, causing a fire.

Located in the northern reaches of Western Siberia, Yamalo-Nenets is the heartland of Russia's natural gas industry and home to a liquefied-natural gas plant. To date, the region has largely been untouched by Ukrainian strikes on Russian critical infrastructure.

European natural gas prices have soared this year amid disruptions to LNG supplies from the Persian Gulf and concerns about low storage levels ahead of the winter heating season.