The United States is actively working with partners, in particular NATO allies, to build up air defenses in Ukraine to protect the energy system, the capacity deficit of which is estimated at 3 GW in winter, as well as to further develop more sustainable and cleaner energy, Deputy Secretary of State for Energy Resources Jeffrey Payette said .
“We are working diligently, in particular with our NATO allies, on aid issues, on air defense issues, to give Ukraine the opportunity to repel attacks by the Russian Federation. But they will obviously continue. Putin thinks he can survive us. We have to demonstrate that he is wrong,” Payette said at the 9th Annual Energy Security Conference of Central and Eastern Europe in Washington.
“In any case, it will be a difficult winter. We hope that Ukraine will be able to obtain about 15 GW of capacity, which is 3 GW less than the expected demand. This means that there will be power outages. But we cannot allow Vladimir Putin to achieve what he was unable to achieve on the battlefield with the help of attacks on civilian energy infrastructure,” the US Deputy Secretary of State emphasized.
He noted that Russia, which has been targeting the electricity transmission system since the beginning of the war, is making systematic efforts to destroy Ukraine’s generating capacity this year, which, according to him, is particularly worrying. At the same time, the Russian Federation uses various types of weapons for attacks, increasing their power.
In this regard, according to Payette, allies and partners of Ukraine around the world should help Ukrainians to increase the stability of the energy system “to ensure that Ukrainians will survive the next winter, as they have already survived the two winters of this energy war.”
“The United States alone allocated more than $500 million for the repair and reconstruction of the energy sector. There will be more. We are working with USAID, the Ministry of Energy, with partners such as DFC (American International Development Finance Corporation), on long-term investments to increase capacity and create a future cleaner, greener and more sustainable Ukrainian energy system,” explained the US Deputy Secretary of State.
Regarding the future of the OZP later at the conference, Payett noted that all regions of Ukraine will be vulnerable in one way or another and for various reasons in the upcoming heating season.
According to him, the energy supply of Kyiv, where the government is located, is of primary importance.
“We are also very focused on the economic heart of the country, namely the Dnieper, Kryvyi Rih, obviously Odesa because of its role in the “grain corridor”, which became one of the biggest successes of this war. (…) Ukraine, which (in part – IF-U) is under occupation, faces daily missile strikes, and continues to be one of the world’s largest exporters of food grain, ensuring the world’s food security,” Payett emphasized.
He also emphasized that the US is very concerned from a humanitarian point of view about Kharkiv, the second largest city in Ukraine, which experienced the massive destruction of its heating capacity.
“I have been to Kharkiv many times in the middle of winter. It’s very cold there, so we’re really worried about that,” he described his feelings.
Payette expressed the opinion that this is why the partners should do everything possible to help the Ukrainians increase their resilience and ensure their victory. He noted that he had discussed the issue of providing Ukraine with “flexible mobile energy and energy leasing” with many American companies working in the energy sector.
“After the military campaign and our efforts to get Ukraine the weapons it needs to win, this (energy – ER) is the number one issue we’re all thinking about,” Payette emphasized.
He also reported that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced his intention to visit Ukraine, and energy issues are on his list of priorities.
