The Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal and the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for the European Green Deal Frans Timmermans discussed the development of green energy sector and Ukrainian industry during an online meeting.

The Head of the Ukrainian Government briefed his interlocutor about the challenges in energy security caused by the full-scale russian invasion of Ukraine. He noted that numerous war crimes committed by the russian military, including the seizure of nuclear power plants, pose a threat to the environment.

"We are currently estimating all the environmental and energy losses, as russia has destroyed a number of infrastructure facilities. The aggressor continues to hold the territory of Zaporizhia NPP. We are concerned about the actions of the aggressor's troops present there and how russia will behave in the future with regard to nuclear power plants in Ukraine," stressed Denys Shmyhal.

The Head of Government thanked the European Union for preparing the next, sixth package of sanctions against russia. He emphasized the importance of imposing an embargo on russian oil and gas, as it would have a major impact on russia's budget, as a source to finance terrorism.

Moreover, the Prime Minister separately thanked the European Commission and the EU countries for the decision to connect the Ukrainian energy system to the European network ENTSO-E.

"In the first days of the large-blown war, we made a political decision not to return to the combined power grid of russia and belarus after working in autonomous regime. We appreciate the decision of the European Commission and the European Union as a whole. Now we continue to work to export as much of our electricity as possible to European countries," the Prime Minister said.

According to Denys Shmyhal, Ukraine currently has a surplus of electricity, as consumption fell by more than 35% during the war. Therefore, the export of electricity to European countries will be a good support for the Ukrainian economy, the PM added.

The Prime Minister of Ukraine and the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission also discussed the Recovery Plan of our country. Denys Shmyhal highlighted that Ukraine's goal is to move towards a green economy, so our country intends to rebuild infrastructure in line with the EU standards.

"Today, the share of green energy in Ukraine makes up 17%. We will continue to implement a strategy to increase it. After the war, we would like to develop Ukraine's energy system in accordiance with EU green standards. With this in mind, we are developing a Recovery Plan," the Prime Minister said.

According to the Prime Minister, Ukraine is interested in new technologies and stands ready to start work on a memorandum with the EU.

For his part, Frans Timmermans noted that the European Union and Ukraine would work together on a plan to increase the sustainability of Ukrainian industry as part of the European industrial ecosystem.