On Friday, Ukraine announced it would resume electricity deliveries to Europe after a six-month shutdown due to Russian attacks targeting the war-torn country’s infrastructure. This was confirmed by Energy Minister German Galushchenko.
“The Ukrainian electricity network has been operating again for about two months without any curbs on consumption and with a reserve”, assured Minister Galushchenko in a statement, adding that the repairs were successful.
Exporting surplus energy would allow Ukraine to free up resources to invest in rebuilding destroyed or damaged energy infrastructure. It has already been negotiated to export 400 megawatts to the European electricity grid, to which Ukraine was connected just before the Russian invasion. But the amount that will actually be delivered will depend on the needs of Ukrainian consumers who remain a priority, Galushchenko said.
Moreover, at the end of a three-day state visit to China, Xi Jinping made a commitment to Emmanuel Macron to “support any effort to restore peace in Ukraine” attacked by Russia. A conflict that the Chinese president still refuses to condemn.
In this joint declaration, Russia is not mentioned. Moreover, the text does not call for Moscow troops to leave Ukraine. Nor does he condemn Vladimir Putin’s military intervention.
On the other hand, the two countries “oppose armed attacks on nuclear power plants and other peaceful nuclear facilities” and support the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) “to ensure the security of the Zaporizhia power plant”.