Herman Halushchenko, the Ukrainian minister of energy, met separately with Jörg Kukis, the state secretary of Germany’s office of the federal chancellor, while in Berlin on business.
The parties discussed potential areas of cooperation in the reconstruction of the Ukrainian energy sector while highlighting the significance of going green and ending reliance on Russian energy sources.
Particularly, the production and delivery of hydrogen present enormous opportunities for bilateral cooperation. Germany is considering relevant projects, such as the potential modernization of the Ukrainian GTS for hydrogen transportation.
The parties discussed the situation at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and emphasised the significance of upholding the fundamental rules of nuclear and radiation safety. German Halushchenko highlighted that as Russia’s military targets and shuts down nuclear power reactors in Ukraine, it should be held accountable for acts of nuclear terrorism. Excluding Russia from the global market for nuclear technologies and tightening sanctions should be the response of civilised nations.
The Ukrainian and German sides discussed Ukraine’s experience of giving up Russian nuclear fuel and attested to the existence of a consensus between the nations on the issue of imposing sanctions on the Russian Federation’s nuclear industry.
Separately, the German government was thanked by the director of the Ukrainian energy ministry for their support. 55 cargoes totalling 423 tonnes in weight of energy equipment in the form of humanitarian aid have already been sent to Ukraine by its German partners. Herman Halushchenko also emphasised the significance of Germany’s EUR 129.5 million donations to the Ukraine Energy Support Fund, which was established under the Energy Community Secretariat.
