Ukraine needs almost billion dollars in energy sector help, Zelensky tells Paris aid conference
- ‘It’s a very high amount but cost is less than cost of potential blackout’; besieged nation’s president says repair equipment, generators, energy imports needed
- Many power plants destroyed by Russia; with 12 million Ukrainians suffering power cuts, Ukraine asked for more assistance, which was then pledged
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told an international aid conference on Tuesday that Ukraine needed emergency aid for its energy sector totalling around 800 million euros (US$842 million).
“Of course it is a very high amount, but the cost is less than the cost of a potential blackout,” Zelensky told the Paris gathering of around 70 nations and international agencies, via video link. “I hope that decisions will be made accordingly.”
He said 12 million Ukrainians are suffering power outages and said Ukraine needed transformers, equipment to repair damaged high-voltage power lines, generators and gas turbines.
“Because of the destruction of our power plants by terror attacks we will need to use more gas this winter than expected,” he added.
This would require the import of two billion cubic metres of gas over the winter as well as major electricity imports from EU neighbours, he said.
Ukraine has been linked up to the common European power network since June after ending its connection to the Russian and Belarus grids.