On Thursday 17 March, Ukraine’s energy security was the topic of DTEK CEO Maxim Timchenko’s weekly online media briefing. It was attended by representatives of more than 40 media publications from the EU and beyond.

The key points were:

  • “The Ukrainian people and the Armed Forces of Ukraine have demonstrated heroic resistance to the Russian occupying forces. We are also fighting on the energy front to ensure the stable operation of Ukraine’s energy system.”
  • “Ukraine took a key step towards energy independence from the aggressor, ahead of schedule, with technical synchronisation of the Ukrainian power system with ENTSO-E on Wednesday 16 March. This means Ukraine now has its own energy "airbag", to minimise any disruption to the Ukrainian power system. Usually, the process of synchronisation takes seven to ten years. Ukraine has achieved in just five years.”
  • “Thermal power plants, in particular the DTEK Energy TPPs, have made a major contribution. Despite the ongoing war, energy sector participants have worked incredibly hard over the past three weeks, on top of the years of preparation, to fulfil the final technical commitments for the ENTSO-E synchronisation.”
  • “The definitive proof that our system is reliable, and therefore can be synchronised with the EU’s, came when was the Zaporizhzhya NPP was seized by Russian military forces, leading to the shutdown of two power units. In compensation, DTEK was able to put an additional five thermal power plants into operation, proving Ukraine’s power system has the flexibility and resilience to deliver stable operations even in the most demanding conditions.”
  • “There is no acute shortage of coal for thermal power plants in Ukraine today. Current coal stocks in Ukraine total 893 thousand tonnes, of which 743 thousand tonnes are in DTEK warehouses. We are working closely with the European Commission on this issue and look forward to their support.”
  • “However, our financial resource are far from being infinite. Because of the decrease in consumption and therefore payments, the market needs additional financing of around $200 million per month. This problem cannot be solved without the help of our international friends and partners. We seeking support not charity: one of the ways of tackling this challenge could be an accelerated launch of electricity export.”
  • “Russian troops still occupy Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, in Zaporizhzhia, as well as Chornobyl NPP, which carries a significant risk of an environmental catastrophe. On 15-16 March, the invaders detonated some of the mines near the NPP site. Energoatom has reported that the invaders are planning more terrorist acts, using the rest of the ammunition. Unfortunately, the radiation background at the site is unknown, as no monitoring data is available.”
  • “However, there is too much at stake to just rely on luck. Humanity survived Chornobyl and Fukushima but now Russia threatens another disaster of an even greater scale. DTEK calls on Western countries, NATO and the United Nations to immediately introduce no-fly zones over all Ukrainian nuclear power plants. We have to prohibit any use of aviation, drones or cruise missiles in a 30 km zone around all five or our nuclear power plants. This goes way beyond the security of Ukraine. The fate of hundreds of millions of lives is at stake.”