Ukraine will begin an energy-saving program worth more than USD 11 billion next year, and is expecting the European Union's help in the matter, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday.
Earlier in the day, the Ukrainian leader met with European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for the 23rd Ukraine-European Union Summit in Kiev.
"We have a substantial energy saving program ... We will discuss this program with EU colleagues and Ukraine currently requires roughly 300 billion hryvnia [over $11 billion]," Zelenskyy said at a post-summit briefing, adding that implementation "will be faster with professional assistance and financial support from the EU but, in any case, we will begin doing it next year."
The president noted that Kiev has to address the issue of saving energy, especially in view of a possible cessation of gas transit through its territory.
On September 10, Russia's Gazprom announced the completion of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. Kiev has been a consistent opponent of the project over concerns that it will allow Russia to deliver its gas directly to Europe, bypassing Ukraine. Moscow has stressed multiple times that the agreement on gas transit to Europe through its neighbor will remain in effect until the end date, and even after its completion, Russia does not plan to abandon Ukrainian transit (ANI/Sputnik)
( With inputs from ANI )
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