“On this space, Ukraine is now a part of Europe,” EU vitality commissioner Kadri Simson mentioned in a press release, including that Moldova — which additionally has a Russia-backed breakaway area — was additionally related to the grid.
“The EU will proceed to assist Ukraine within the vitality sector, by making certain the reverse flows of fuel to the nation and the supply of vitality provides which are badly wanted,” she mentioned.
EU vitality ministers on February 28 introduced they might hook up the grid of their 27-nation bloc with Ukraine after it disconnected from the Russian electrical energy community and suffered missile strikes and shelling to its infrastructure.
Whereas the link-up dangers blackouts and brownouts occurring in elements of the EU, Brussels has introduced the transfer as a part of its solidarity with Ukraine, even because it rebuffs Kyiv’s pleas for fast EU membership.
“Ukraine, Moldova and Europe: shared values, shared energy and solidarity,” European Fee chief Ursula von der Leyen tweeted.
“I welcome the important thing step taken at present to maintain lights on and homes heat in these darkish instances by synchronising the electrical energy grids of Ukraine and Moldova with the EU’s grid. We’ll proceed working to stabilise their energy programs,” she mentioned.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted that, as of Wednesday, his nation had change into “a member of the EU’s Power Union” and thanked Simson and von der Leyen.