The German Government Allocates €24 Million Loan to Ukraine for Strengthening the Energy System
The German government has allocated a €24 million loan through the KfW bank to the Ukrainian company "Ukrenergo" to enhance the resilience of the Ukrainian energy system. An additional €500,000 will be provided as a grant.
This information was reported by the head of Ukrenergo, Volodymyr Kudrytskyi.
"Our partners systematically contribute to the development of our common energy security. It has three important components: the restoration of energy facilities, their protection, and an increase in electricity trade with the EU," emphasized Kudrytskyi.
It is noted that the head of the Ukrainian energy company held a meeting with the head of the KfW Office in Ukraine, Lorenz Gessner, and the German Ambassador to Ukraine, Martin Jaeger. During the meeting, the parties discussed further steps to modernize the Ukrainian energy system. This includes planned strengthening of technical connections with the European energy system, restoration of high-voltage facilities in the western region, and the construction of their protection.
The actual signing of all necessary agreements is expected to begin next week.
Additionally, Kudrytskyi mentioned that, thanks to cooperation with KfW, the company has already managed to attract over €220 million from the German government for the restoration of substations and liquidity support.
"German transmission system operators Amprion, TenneT, TransnetBW, and 50 Herz provided over a hundred units of equipment needed for the repair of main power grids and substations of Ukrenergo. We are grateful to our German colleagues for their continuous support of the Ukrainian energy system and our company," wrote Kudrytskyi.
It is worth noting that in fall 2022, Russia began targeted shelling of Ukraine's energy infrastructure, leading to the disruption of at least 50% of the country's entire energy network.
In July 2023, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced that Ukraine had successfully completed about 60% of the planned work to restore power grids damaged by Russian attacks.
Ahead of winter, Western partners started providing Ukraine with new "winter support," including air defense systems and missiles. Recently, Germany announced a military aid package, which included four IRIS-T SLM anti-aircraft missile systems.