Along with the development of renewable energy sources, countries must increase the capacity of basic power generation. This is a lesson that the modern world must learn from the Ukrainian experience gained during the full-scale war with russia.

This was emphasised by Minister of Energy of Ukraine German Galushchenko in his speech at The 2024 Cipher Brief Kyiv Economic & Security Forum.

The head of the Ministry of Energy noted that in recent years, Europe and the entire civilised world have begun to realise the danger of dependence on russian energy carriers.

“russia uses energy as a weapon. The world has already started to realise this and draw conclusions. After all, dependence on energy is a direct threat to national security and security of supply,” said German Galushchenko.

The Minister emphasised that even in times of war, Ukraine remained committed to the goals of the green transition, developing renewable energy sources and increasing green generation capacity.

At the same time, he stressed the importance of nuclear power, which remained a major source of electricity, accounting for more than 55% of the country’s energy mix.

“Thanks to nuclear generation, we have already passed the third heating season in the war. This experience can and should be useful for our partners – along with the development of renewable energy sources, large economies must be provided with stable basic power generation, which is critical for industry,” the Minister said.

According to Herman Galushchenko, the key priorities for the development of the Ukrainian energy sector are set out in the Energy Strategy, which includes, among other things, decentralisation of power generation, development of renewable energy sources and nuclear power generation.

However, the future of nuclear energy will depend, in the Minister’s opinion, on the situation at the russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP.

“Today, the situation is deteriorating every day: the equipment is degrading, the lifetime of nuclear fuel is expiring, and qualified Ukrainian personnel are not allowed by the occupiers. All this, together with the violation of the basic pillars of nuclear and radiation safety by the russians, leads to the fact that a nuclear incident at the plant is ‘only a matter of time’. Therefore, ZNPP should be immediately de-occupied and transferred under the full control of a legitimate Ukrainian operator,” concluded German Galushchenko.