- Title: Energy ceasefire would favour Russia, says Ukrainian expert
- Date: 20th March 2025
- Summary: KYIV, UKRAINE (MARCH 19, 2025) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) ENERGY EXPERT, OLEKSANDR KHARCHENKO, SAYING: "Even if we will take back the station tomorrow, let's imagine it. Tomorrow Ukrainian people will be back and Energoatom (Ukrainian state-owned nuclear energy company) will manage Zaporizhzhia (NPP). We will need from six months to one year to start even one reactor.
- Embargoed:
- Keywords: Putin Trump Zaporizhzhia Zelenskiy energy system nuclear power war in Ukraine
- Location: KYIV, NIKOPOL, KHARKIV, AND UNDISCLOSED LOCATION, UKRAINE / ENERHODAR, RUSSIAN-CONTROLLED UKRAINE / KAVKAZSKAYA, KRASNODAR REGION, AND RYAZAN, RUSSIA
- City: KYIV, NIKOPOL, KHARKIV, AND UNDISCLOSED LOCATION, UKRAINE / ENERHODAR, RUSSIAN-CONTROLLED UKRAINE / KAVKAZSKAYA, KRASNODAR REGION, AND RYAZAN, RUSSIA
- Country: Ukraine
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Europe,Military Conflicts
- Reuters ID: LVA00I006819032025RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: A ceasefire focusing specifically on energy infrastructure would benefit Russia more than it would Ukraine, Ukrainian energy expert Oleksandr Kharchenko told Reuters on Wednesday (March 19).
While Ukraine has adapted its energy industry to fulfil the country’s needs throughout the three-year war, Russia is heavily dependent on its oil and gas sector -- which has been hard-hit by Ukraine -- for exports funding the war effort, Oleksandr Kharchenko, Managing Director at the Energy Industry Research Centre said.
Moscow and Kyiv accused each other on Wednesday of launching air attacks that damaged infrastructure just hours after their leaders agreed in principle to a U.S.-sponsored limited ceasefire to halt attacks on energy infrastructure.
Russia has previously pounded Ukraine's energy grid, causing frequent power cuts. Ukraine has retaliated with drone attacks on Russian crude refineries, pumping stations and ports
Featuring prominently in ongoing talks is also the future of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, currently under Russian control.
Kharchenko said it would take Ukraine years to relaunch energy generation at the Russian-occupied station if it were to take control of Europe's largest nuclear plant again.
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