Challenges for Ukraine’s energy system this winter are serious, but EU support continues – Mathernova

EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarina Mathernova stated this in an interview with Ukrinform.

“The European Union's support for Ukrainian energy since the full-scale invasion, during wartime, is a Continuum. We have already spent upwards of 3 billion euros since February 2022, and unfortunately, I share with you the worry about the upcoming winter…But obviously, the challenges are high. And we are trying to adjust and mobilize as many resources as possible,” the diplomat said.

She recalled that the European Union supports Ukraine’s energy sector in several key areas. One of them is financing the emergency purchase of gas. Under the guarantees of the Ukraine Facility, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Investment Bank jointly provided €800 million, while a Norwegian grant helped raise nearly another €1 billion for these needs.

“But I know that more will be needed. This is not enough. And our President, von der Leyen, is actively involved in discussions with other countries. She had a very good phone call yesterday with President Zelensky, where energy was also discussed. So emergency purchase of gas is one area,” Mathernova noted.

The Ambassador added that the EU is financing the repair of equipment for both state-owned and large private energy companies.

“My favorite example of this is our civil protection mechanism, which is the transport and logistics way of bringing all the equipment to Ukraine. We actually took apart a power plant in Vilnius and transported it piece by piece to Ukraine,” she said.

In addition, the EU continues to provide emergency humanitarian assistance to affected communities.

“And last but not least, a very few days into the full-scale Invasion, we connected the Ukrainian and Moldovan energy electricity grid with the continental European grid, and through that, Ukraine can tap into and import, I think, some 2.2 gigawatts of electricity on a daily basis. That's helping certainly the western part of Ukraine to keep the keep the lights on,” the EU Ambassador emphasized.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, at the end of October, the European Union allocated an additional €5 million to UNICEF to support families with children in frontline regions of Ukraine ahead of winter and provide emergency assistance.

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