Due to the crisis in the energy sector of Ukraine, the country may "not live" until the next heating season.

This was stated by the deputy of the Rada from the presidential party "Servant of the People" Lyudmila Buimister.

On the air of the Nash TV channel, the parliamentarian stressed that the Ukrainian energy sector is in a deplorable state due to the lack of professionalism of its managers.

“We want to limit tariffs in a populist way and have done so for gas and electricity.

Thank God, at least people will probably get through this heating season a little easier, ”Buimister said.

At the same time, rolling blackouts and further decline in the state of all networks can be expected in Ukraine in winter, the politician said.

“As a result of all this, we simply will not survive until the next heating season,” the deputy said.

This is not the first time Lyudmila Buimister has criticized the state of affairs in the energy sector in Ukraine.

So, in July, a parliamentarian accused the country's government of disrupting preparations for the heating season.

“There is no coal in the country, no opportunity to buy it.

The repair campaign, in fact, has been disrupted, and the energy system is steadily sliding into the abyss ... Why preparations for the heating season have been disrupted in Ukraine and who is to blame for this - I am addressing the Prime Minister, "the politician wrote on her Facebook.

According to the deputy, a critical situation has developed in Ukraine - due to lack of fuel, 12 power units of thermal power plants and thermal power plants throughout the country were stopped.

“Every third block of the state-owned company Centrenergo cannot work today, since there is no coal and money in the warehouses to pay for gas.

The state company applied to the National Security and Defense Council with a request to allocate money from the reserve fund for the purchase of coal, ”Buimister said.

No direct deliveries

Aleksey Kucherenko, the first deputy chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Energy and Housing and Utilities, also warned that Ukraine with almost 100% probability will face electricity generation problems.

According to him, the Ukrainian side "substituted itself" by refusing a direct contract with "Gazprom" for the supply of Russian gas in the face of record market prices for blue fuel and due to a shortage of coal.

“We, unfortunately, set ourselves up.

And in this situation, I do not exclude that, depending on the temperature in winter, in December - January, there may be a situation when there will not be enough gas volumes, "Kucherenko said on the First Independent TV channel on September 18.

  • Meeting of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine

  • RIA News

Recall that at the beginning of this year, Prime Minister Denis Shmygal announced that Ukraine would not resume direct gas imports from Russia.

“Our government has no intention of buying gas from Russia directly.

Point ", - quotes his words TASS.

In March, the head of Naftogaz Ukrainy, Andriy Kobolev, said that the resumption of direct imports of Russian gas would jeopardize the country's sovereignty.

“Such agreements are impossible without a political component, which will be dictated by the Kremlin, and this in itself is a threat to Ukraine, as it involves an encroachment on sovereignty.

I do not believe that the purchase of gas in Russia can be a purely commercial operation, "Kobolev said in an interview with the Ukrainian Week.

At the same time, Kiev continues to insist on maintaining the transit of Russian gas through its territory.

So, the general director of the company "Operator GTS Ukraine" Sergei Makogon said the day before that the Ukrainian side would like to immediately conclude a transit contract, without waiting for 2024, when the current agreement with "Gazprom" is completed.

“We insist that the gas transit contract must be signed immediately, without waiting for the end of 2024,” Makogon said during a roundtable video-hosted by the American think tank Atlantic Council *.

According to him, this will guarantee the preservation of transit through Ukraine after the launch of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, the certification of which is going to be closely monitored in Kiev.

Seasonal readiness?

Despite statements by Ukrainian parliamentarians about the crisis in the energy sector, Prime Minister Denis Shmygal claims that the country is ready for the heating season.

“Ukraine is ready for the heating season.

The technical readiness of the regions is already over 90%.

Gas reserves in underground storage facilities in Ukraine exceeded 18.5 billion cubic meters.

m ", - the head of the government assured those present during the" Hour of questions to the government "in the Verkhovna Rada.

According to him, the country "will calmly pass this heating period."

At the same time, Shmygal blamed Gazprom for the rise in gas prices on the European market.

“What we see with gas prices on European exchanges is an energy war that Gazprom unleashed to blackmail and put Nord Stream 2 into operation.

This is an obvious fact, which is confirmed by the decrease in exports by the Russian monopolist in comparison with previous years, and the refusal to book additional capacities of the Ukrainian gas transportation system, ”the head of the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers said.

  • Prime Minister of Ukraine Denis Shmygal

  • © AP Photo / Efrem Lukatsky

Let us remind you that world gas prices continue to grow steadily.

Since the beginning of the year, its cost has exceeded $ 800 per 1,000 cubic meters, and over the past few weeks, during trading on the ICE exchange, it has repeatedly exceeded $ 900 per 1,000 cubic meters.

Against the backdrop of these events, a group of MEPs sent a letter to the European Commission with a call to investigate the actions of Gazprom, which allegedly could lead to a similar increase in fuel prices.

Gazprom rejected the accusations of European parliamentarians, stressing that the company supplies gas in accordance with the requests of consumers, fully fulfilling its contractual obligations.

In turn, the EC noted that gas prices rose for a number of objective reasons.

According to stock exchange analysts, this is due to strong demand for fuel and low storage capacity in Europe.

Bureaucratic dictatorship

Political analyst Oleksandr Dudchak believes that the accusations of the people's deputies against the Ukrainian government are fully justified.

“The current gas prices are a disaster for the population, but not a problem for the Ukrainian leadership, which had previously signed documents on setting gas prices under the guise of“ energy security ”.

For this reason, accusations against the activities of the Ukrainian leadership are quite reasonable, ”the expert said.

At the same time, it is obvious that the unprofessional actions of functionaries from the Zelensky administration do not in any way affect their official position, the political scientist added.

“Given that a dictatorship has developed in Ukraine under the Zelensky administration, officials and politicians do not think about their popularity among the population.

They know exactly what the Ukrainians think about them, but they stay where they are, ”Oleksandr Dudchak noted.

Consecutive statements by Rada deputies about the crisis in the energy sector in Ukraine due to a lack of fuel indicate the presence of a serious problem, which was the result of the ill-conceived policy of the current Ukrainian government, said Vladimir Shapovalov, deputy director of the Institute of History and Politics of the Moscow State Pedagogical University, in an interview with RT.

“It is necessary to heed these words and, before it is too late, to change this policy.

In fact, we are talking about the fact that all the actions of the current government were wrong, including a step aimed at a conflict with Russia in the framework of gas problems.

Today, Ukraine, which during the Soviet era had the broadest opportunities for energy production, turns out to be an energy bankrupt, "the political scientist emphasized.

The rating of Zelensky and his team is rapidly falling, and the energy situation is one of the components of the current crisis, Vladimir Shapovalov added.

"In fact, nothing remained of the former trust in the figure of Zelensky, as it was during the election period, when the majority of Ukrainians voted for him and saw him as the one who would pull the country out of the crisis," the interlocutor concluded.

* "Atlantic Council" (Atlantic Council of the United States) - an organization whose activities are recognized as undesirable on the territory of the Russian Federation by the decision of the General Prosecutor's Office of 25.07.2019.