EU sends Lithuanian power plant to Ukraine, bringing electricity to million people
Photo: The European Union has transferred a thermal power plant from Lithuania to Ukraine (Getty Images)
The European Commission has transferred a thermal power plant from Lithuania to Ukraine, which should provide electricity to about one million Ukrainians, according to the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine.
"The complex operation, which lasted 11 months, included 149 deliveries of equipment with a total weight of 2,399 tons. Among them, 40 were oversized cargoes, including extremely heavy transformers and stators weighing about 172 tons each," Ukraine's Ministry of Energy says.
The support of the Polish Government Agency for Strategic Reserves played an important role in ensuring the complex transportation of these components.
The equipment provided helped to carry out emergency repairs in several regions of Ukraine, where the energy infrastructure was significantly damaged as a result of Russian strikes.
"We are extremely grateful to our partners from Lithuania, Poland, and the entire European community who helped us obtain critically needed equipment. It helped restore important energy capacities and strengthen the resilience of the energy system," says Artem Nekrasov, Acting Minister of Energy of Ukraine.
European Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management, Hadja Lahbib, emphasizes that the delivery of this power plant will help provide light and heat to one million people facing the fourth winter of Russia's aggressive war.
According to the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine, this logistical operation is part of the EU's comprehensive response to Russia's aggression against Ukraine since February 2022, coordinated through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.
To date, the EU's overall support for Ukraine's energy sector has helped millions of people, including the delivery of 9,500 generators and 7,200 transformers. In total, the Commission has allocated more than €1.2 billion to humanitarian aid programs in Ukraine and delivered more than 160,000 tons of aid.
Earlier, the Energy Ministers of the G7 countries condemned the latest Russian strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure and confirmed their readiness to help Kyiv restore its power system.
Germany is also allocating €100 million to Ukraine for the repair of its power grid. The funds will be transferred to the Energy Support Fund for Ukraine via the KfW development bank.
