On September 4, a roundtable discussion on the state of the energy sector and preparations for the heating season was held in Kyiv with the participation of Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal.
It featured a U.S. delegation headed by Deputy National Security Advisor Jonathan Finer, Minister of Energy German Galushchenko, Acting Minister for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development Vasyl Shkurakov, Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Oleksiy Kuleba, heads of energy companies and heads of the regional military administrations.
“The energy sector is one of the main challenges for Ukraine after security and defence. Since the first days of the war, russia has been attacking our energy facilities. Since the end of March, we have lost more than 9 GW of installed capacity. Now Ukraine is doing everything possible to compensate for these losses and prepare for the winter,” said Denys Shmyhal.
In his speech, the Prime Minister focused on three key areas in which the Government and local authorities were currently working:
– Restoration and repair of everything that needs to be rebuilt;
– Construction of a decentralised generation system. Ukraine plans to create hundreds of small generation facilities that will be less vulnerable to russian terror;
– Accumulating assistance from international partners.
The participants of the meeting discussed Ukraine’s needs, which had increased significantly after the recent hostile attacks.
“We are grateful to the United States for announcing new funding for energy assistance in the amount of $500 million in addition to the $324 million announced earlier. These funds will be used for the needs of Ukraine’s energy sector,” said Denys Shmyhal.
The Prime Minister thanked the U.S. Presidential Administration and the Congress for their unprecedented support, which had become vital for Ukraine in these difficult times. (Government portal)