Simson – Haluschenko – Photo © European Union 2022
(KYIV) – Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson paid a visit to Ukraine Tuesday to discuss with President Volodymyr Zelensky and international partners the immediate concrete support for its battered energy sector.
Russia’s persistent and deliberate targeting of Ukrainian energy infrastructure over the past weeks and months has affected more than 30% of the country’s energy system.
“Russia is deliberately targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure to increase human suffering as winter approaches,” said Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson: “Our top priority is to protect millions of families in Ukraine from the cold and the dark. We need a joint effort by governments, institutions and private companies in the EU and beyond to scale up the support that we are already providing.”
The EU has, together with EU Member States and private companies, delivered millions of euros worth of emergency energy equipment to Ukraine, but the level of support needs to be ramped up in light of Russia’s escalating attacks, says the Commission. In addition to the necessary equipment, 25.5 million has been made available to cover the most urgent needs via the Ukraine Energy Support Fund that the Commission has set up with the Energy Community. A dedicated campaign to mobilise further support from the private sector will be launched in the coming days jointly by the Commission, the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine and the Energy Community.
This visit comes just ahead of the winter season and less than a week after the Commission and the G7 Presidency called for an international ‘Marshall plan for Ukraine’, which would pave the way for the country’s immediate and sustainable reconstruction.
In Kyiv, Commissioner Simson met President Zelenskyy, to discuss the latest developments and how the EU can lead the international effort to repair and rebuild the Ukrainian energy infrastructure. She also participated in the first meeting of the International Energy Advisory Council for Ukraine (IEAC4U), a new forum announced by Minister Galushchenko at the EU energy ministers’ meeting in Prague in mid-October. The IEAC4U will help coordinate the efforts of all participating countries and will provide technical assistance in matching Ukrainian needs with potential donations.
The visit was also an opportunity for Commissioner Simson to co-chair the EU-Ukraine High-Level Energy Dialogue together with the Minister of Energy, where the immediate needs of the Ukrainian energy system and the security of supply situation, as well as the reconstruction and decarbonisation of its energy system were discussed. At the meeting, the Commissioner announced that 13 million euros have been allocated for the restoration of laboratories damaged by the Russian occupiers at the nuclear site of Chornobyl and that the EU intends to channel through the International Atomic Energy Agency a further 3.5 million as support for Ukraine in this sector.
Speech by Simson at the press point in Kyiv, Ukraine (europa.eu)
