First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister of Energy Denys Shmyhal participated in the conference “Energy Security – Lessons Learned from Ukraine” held in Berlin. During his address, he emphasised that amid the full-scale war, the energy sector has become one of the key fronts of confrontation with russia.

“Energy has become one of the central battlefields in russia’s unprovoked war against Ukraine. Energy is no longer merely a separate sector — it is the operational foundation of the state,” the Minister stated.

Denys Shmyhal noted that Ukraine has already endured several difficult winters. Following massive attacks on electricity generation, transmission, and distribution facilities, the country has been compelled to reconsider its approach to ensuring energy resilience.

According to the Minister, Ukraine is gradually transitioning from a centralised model to a decentralised energy architecture in which individual system components are capable of operating autonomously and supplying consumers with electricity even under conditions of infrastructure damage.

The First Deputy Prime Minister stressed that Ukraine’s experience should be taken into account in European practice. In particular, this concerns the development of cross-border electricity and gas networks, the establishment of European reserves of critical energy equipment with common standards and regional storage facilities, as well as the integration of energy infrastructure protection into the security and defence agenda of the European Union.

Denys Shmyhal also expressed gratitude to Germany for its substantial support to Ukraine’s energy sector.

“We have received 286 humanitarian consignments from Germany through the Emergency Energy Support Mechanism, while Germany’s contribution to the Ukraine Energy Support Fund has reached EUR 557 million. We highly appreciate this support,” he added.