Russian invasion marks ‘end of European energy naivety’ says Ukraine electricity chief

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24 marked “the end of European energy naivety” according to the chief executive of Ukrainian energy utility DTEK, Maxim Timchenko.

“The geopolitical order has changed,” he said. “This, for me, is a game-changer. Now we all live in a new reality – and this new reality should bring us to the question of how we became so dependent on Russia?

“How in the energy mix of Europe is there 45% of Russian gas, 27% of Russian oil and 45% of Russian coal? How did Europe manage to be so dependent on such an unreliable partner?

Timchenko was speaking in Brussels at the annual Power Summit of European electricity sector trade organisation Eurelectric.

He said that Ukraine could play a crucial role in Europe’s future energy security strategy. “Only after three weeks of war, Ukraine managed to synchronize our grid with the European grid, so today we are physically part of the energy industry of Europe.

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“I think that’s a great achievement not only for Ukraine but also for Europe,” he said, adding: “We can be a reliable partner. We can supply a lot of electricity cheaper than European prices today. We have a lot of opportunities to develop renewables and to develop nuclear. We can be part of the solution rather than the problem.”

“That’s what I call the change of geopolitical order and a new role for Ukraine in the sustainable energy industry.”

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The invasion of Ukraine prompted the European Commision to introduce its REPowerEU plan, designed to cut Europe’s dependency on Russian fuels, and Eurelectric Secretary General Kristian Ruby said the power sector was “in good shape” to deal with this.

But he added the caveat: “We’re also facing an unprecedented uphill climb over the next several years. The acceleration of renewables needed is really unprecedented and it’s difficult to imagine the scale, so we are facing a new set of challenges.”

Ruby also stressed that “the geopolitics of energy are changing” and re-emphasised Timchenko’s message that the past six months should indeed mark the end of European energy naivety.