Ukraine announces its integration into the European Energy Union

Smoke from the pipes of a power generation facility rises over apartment buildings in Kyiv.

REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

Text by: RFI Follow

2 mins

Volodymyr Zelensky announces his country's integration into the European Energy Union.

Ukraine has started exporting electricity to its EU neighbours, more than three months after connecting to the European grid.

The country has, despite the war, managed to somehow maintain its production estimated at 100 megawatts per day and its export capacity.

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On the side of Brussels, we applaud this step which will somewhat relieve the supply problems while giving a political signal to Russia.

Europeans, eager to get rid of dependence on Russian hydrocarbons for their electrical needs, applaud the news.

For the President of the European Commission, this step takes on particular meaning after Ukraine was granted EU candidate status, a further step towards integration.

Ukraine, according to its president who spoke like every day on video, can export 100 megawatts per day, the equivalent of the production of fifteen wind turbines.

A capacity that could be multiplied by eight by the end of the year, with additional infrastructure.

Pre-War Membership Application

The country had not waited for the current war to ask to join the European network of electricity operators.

Thanks to powerful technical and political support, particularly from the United States, this was granted to him in record time, on March 16, after his disconnection from the Russian and Belarusian network.

Self-sufficient in electricity, with its nuclear power plants in particular, Ukraine has seen its consumption reduced by the conflict and therefore the possibility of exporting more.

For the time being, even

, held by the Russians, continues to supply the network held by the Ukrainians.

And in the event that its facilities were to be affected, the European network of electricity transmission system operators ensures that mechanisms exist to guarantee the integrity of the European network.

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• Volodymyr Zelensky

• Ukraine

• Energies