Kiev -

Although Ukraine was the second country in the former Soviet Union in terms of energy sources and the ability to produce them, and inherited many plants and mines from it, energy today is a deep wound in its faltering economy, on which Russia puts salt - if you will - whenever it wants to put pressure on Kiev.

In order to realize the extent of this legacy, it is sufficient to know that Ukraine has 4 nuclear power plants (after the Chernobyl plant was decommissioned in 1986), a large number of thermal and electric power plants, hydroelectric power plants on the Dnieper and Dniester rivers, and many coal mines that were Provides raw materials for thermal and electrical power generation.

In addition, Ukraine inherited from the Soviet Union the second largest gas transmission and distribution network in Europe, after Russia, which includes about 37.1 thousand km of main pipelines, with 72 pressure stations, and 13 underground storage facilities with a capacity of about 32 billion cubic meters. , equivalent to about 21.3% of the annual need for gas across the European continent.

However, in addition to its political crises, Ukraine's economy is groaning today about the crises of the need for energy in general, and for gas and coal in particular, especially after the country's relations with Russia deteriorated since 2014.

economic disaster

Today, too, Ukraine is on the cusp of an "economic catastrophe", as officials describe it, due to the Nord Stream 2 gas transportation project.

The Russian-German line completely bypasses the Ukrainian transport networks, and threatens Kiev with a loss of about two billion to three billion dollars annually in transit fees.

Thus, its launch threatens to transform Ukraine's gas transportation networks, from wealth into scrap, if you will, with many threatening to lose their jobs.

Nord Stream 2 or Nord Stream 2 is a project to transport gas directly from Russia to Germany via the Baltic Sea with a double pipeline, the length of each branch of which exceeds 1,200 km, thus making it the longest pipeline under sea water

Ukraine produces only about 18% of its gas needs (Al-Jazeera)

What is Nord Stream 2?

Nord Stream 2 or Nord Stream 2 is a project to transport gas directly from Russia to Germany through the Baltic Sea with a double pipeline, the length of each branch of which exceeds 1,200 km, thus making it the longest pipeline under sea water.

The Russian energy company, Gazprom, announced the project in 2017, and work began on it in 2018, with a budget set at the time of about $8 billion.

According to the company, the pipeline can transport an annual amount of gas of about 55 billion cubic metres, meaning that it is able to meet the entire European need for blue fuel.

Therefore, Ukraine and the United States are at the forefront of the opposition to this project, as they, along with the Ukrainian loss factor, see that it will establish Russia's control over the energy market in Europe, and will be used later for geopolitical purposes.

Washington obstructed the project for several months by imposing sanctions on the implementing companies and participating in its construction, but it lifted them after the election of President Joe Biden, arguing that the project "has become a fait accompli."

According to observers, Biden thus sought to improve his country's relations with Berlin, after they had worsened under the rule of his predecessor, Donald Trump, but he stipulated that German guarantees be provided to Kiev that Russia would not use the project to pressure Ukraine.

Is it treason?

It was evident that Ukraine did not like the idea of ​​guarantees, even accusing Berlin and Washington of "betraying Ukrainian interests".

Oleksiy Aristovich, advisor in the Ukrainian presidential office, said that "German Chancellor Angela Merkel withstood for 7 years in the face of Russia's aggressor against Ukraine, but in the end she gave up a little bit of Ukrainian interests in favor of Russia."


In a previous article, Yury Vitrenko, CEO of the Ukrainian energy company NAFTOGAZ, said that "many Ukrainians will feel betrayed after the operation of Nord Stream 2, Ukraine will lose a large part of its GDP, and this will be a severe blow to us."

successive crises

Today, however, Ukraine is not only facing the specter of the launch of Nord Stream 2, but also successive energy crises affected by the rise in gas and oil prices to record levels, and the disruption of many of its thermal and electric stations due to the lack of fuel.

"In our country, there are 88 power units at thermal plants, and today only 37 of them are in operation, while 51 units have stopped working due to the lack of fuel," said Ivan Kolko, first deputy chairman of the budget committee of the Verkhovna Rada.

"Nuclear power plants meet only about 55 percent of Ukraine's need for electricity, and 35 percent depend on gas and coal fuel stations," said Yuri Korolchuk, an expert at the Institute for Energy Strategies.

In an interview with Al Jazeera Net, Korolchuk added, "Ukraine imports gas because it does not produce all its needs (about 18% only), and is experiencing a coal shortage crisis because it has lost most of its mines in the eastern regions controlled by pro-Russian separatists."

He continued, "Renewable energy does not produce more than 8% of our electricity needs, and no matter what officials talk about protecting the environment and the transition to clean energy, the fact remains that coal constitutes 95.4% of our biofuel reserves, and on its basis most thermal and electric power plants depend."


Russian hand papers

The viewer from inside and outside the fund may well realize that the main pressure and influence cards in these crises are in the hands of Russia, which is heading - day after day - towards dominating the energy market, so that voices in Ukraine are explicitly alluding to the import of electricity from Russia and neighboring Belarus, regardless of the situation Hostility and tension existing with it.

"With the gas card, Russia is pushing Europe towards re-normalization with it, after a relative rupture caused by the Russian aggression against Ukraine since 2014," said Andrey Yermolayev, an economist at the Sophia Center for Studies.

Yermolayev adds to Al Jazeera Net, "So does Russia with Ukraine, as it threatens its networks with "Nord Stream 2" after 2024 (the date of the end of the current transit contract between the two sides), and pushes it to import coal from the separatist areas in the east, in a manner similar to recognizing them, which it rejects. Kiev so far.

And he concludes, saying, "Ukraine's options are limited and weak in these crises, as it is still calling on America and Europe to block the launch of the Nord Stream 2 project, although it has become a practical reality and is about to actually launch."

fabricated crises

Despite all this, the authorities in Ukraine reject this proposal and paint this tragic picture, and consider that talk about the shortage of energy supplies is fabricated for political goals and interests.

Against the background of this fabrication, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, warned the oligarch class (large businessmen who have great influence in political and economic life), pledging a “hell era” awaiting them, apparently referring to the dependence of many energy companies and coal mines on businessmen. Senior politicians and prices affected by their decisions.

Zelensky considered that the energy crisis is not confined to Ukraine only, but is afflicting the whole world today, and said, "Of course, this also affects our situation, but it is certainly not as tragic as some media portrayed it hysterically," as he described it.