Ukraine is ready to start exporting electricity again, the energy minister said, marking a turning point from six months ago when the Russians bombed power plants to keep them dark and cold.
The statement by Minister Herman Galushchenko, who assured that Ukraine was not only meeting its domestic needs, but also ready to resume exports, was a clear signal of the failure of Russian attempts to weaken Ukraine by attacking their infrastructure.
Ukraine’s domestic demand is “100% satisfied,” he told The Associated Press, adding that he has reserves for exports thanks to the “titanic work” of his engineers and international partners.
The Russian Federation stepped up its attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure in September, when a wave of so-called suicide rockets and drones destroyed about half of Ukraine’s power grid.
Power outages across the country have become commonplace as temperatures drop to sub-zero degrees and tens of millions of people struggle to stay warm.
Kremlin leaders have justified the attacks as intent on weakening Ukraine’s ability to defend itself, but Westerners have objected to accusations that the Russians wanted to inflict suffering on civilians and that attacks resulting in power outages amounted to war crimes. The Ukrainians believed that the timing of the bombing should have destroyed the morale of the population.
Ukraine was forced to stop electricity exports in October to meet domestic demand.
Engineers worked non-stop, often risking their lives, to get the power plants up and running and to keep the power going.
Kyiv’s allies also helped. In December, the US Secretary of State; Anthony Blinken has announced $53 million in aid to Ukraine to purchase equipment for the power grid.
The first country to import Ukrainian energy resources will be Moldova, Galushchenko specified. According to him, they should be followed by Poland, Slovakia and Romania.
At one hundred euros per megawatt-hour, the monthly Ukrainian income from these exports could reach 30 million euros.
Ukraine began selling electricity to its European neighbors in June in an attempt to break free from the Russian Federation’s sphere of influence. The transport lines were synchronized in March 2022, shortly after the start of the Russian invasion.
Engineers have accelerated a project to connect Ukraine to the continental grid, allowing it to stop connecting its electricity grid to the Russian one. Moldova was added later. Previously, Ukraine and Moldova were part of a power-sharing system that included the Russian Federation and Belarus.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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