Ukraine (bbabo.net), - The foreign ministers of Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Finland, Sweden and Estonia pledged to support Ukraine in preparing for winter and rebuilding its energy infrastructure. This is stated in a joint statement adopted by the Foreign Ministers of seven European countries and Ukraine following a meeting in Kyiv.
“We are committed to providing further humanitarian assistance and supporting Ukraine’s efforts to prepare for winter, in particular, to restore Ukraine’s energy infrastructure,” the text of the joint statement, published on Monday on the website of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, reads.
In addition, the Foreign Ministers in their statement supported the expansion of the grain initiative. They also want to strengthen cooperation in the field of cybersecurity and digitalization.
At the same time, many points of the published statement are directed against the Russian Federation. In particular, the ministers once again noted the need to strengthen sanctions and limit the issuance of visas to Russian citizens to enter the EU.
At a briefing following the meeting, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba called air defense systems and transformers the main elements that Kyiv needs to restore the country's energy system.
On June 8, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine would have to go through “the most difficult winter in all the years of independence,” therefore, the export of gas and coal would be temporarily suspended. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal also recommended "to prepare for the most difficult heating season in the history of Ukraine." According to him, almost 50% of the country's energy system is disabled.
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