Pursuant to the instruction of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak held a constituent meeting with international partners to support the restoration of the Ukrainian energy sector.
It was joined by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Geoffrey Pyatt, representatives of the G7 countries, the European Union and its institutions, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the World Bank, the UNDP and USAID.
Ukraine is still facing extremely serious challenges, as Russia continues massive terrorist attacks on the Ukrainian energy system, their intensity is expected to increase, the Head of the Presidential Office emphasized.
"We have only one way out: to repel attacks by air defense forces, to strengthen the protection of energy facilities, and to restore what could not be saved as soon as possible. And here your help is really critical. We have to exclude a scenario when the aggressor will leave millions of people without electricity, water, heat, communication and other essential services for several weeks," said Andriy Yermak.
The Head of the Office of the President thanked all friends and partners for supporting Ukraine and providing assistance to the Ukrainian energy sector. At the same time, he emphasized that our state needs the faster delivery of equipment for the restoration of energy capacities.
"Please check what is in the reserves, what is not used now, what can be transferred to us as soon as possible. Let it not be absolutely new, but let it work," Andriy Yermak urged the partners.
He also emphasized the need to establish more efficient procurement mechanisms and reduce the duration of deliveries, synchronize the chain of order - financing and production.
Geoffrey Pyatt, who oversees the work to support the restoration of the Ukrainian energy system, on his part and on behalf of the participants of the meeting expressed support for Ukraine. He condemned Russia's attacks on Ukrainian critical infrastructure and civilian objects, particularly on New Year's Eve, and assured of further support.
"As President Biden said, we will resolutely do everything to ensure that Russia does not succeed in this war," he stressed and added that the Congress had passed a law providing for $1.1 billion to support the energy sector of Ukraine and Moldova.
According to him, the work is underway to transfer these funds as soon as possible and direct them to the repair of energy facilities destroyed as a result of the aggressor's attacks. It is about restoring the Ukrainian energy system in such a way that it is more sustainable, less dependent on fossil fuels and meets the EU standards.
For further effective work, the participants of the meeting agreed to maintain the dialogue on a regular basis.