Today at 20:06
Photo President Zelenskyi Press Office
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi held a meeting with members of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine concerning energy security.
Zelenskyi reminded that he had visited the Lisova mine in Lviv region recently, where two miners had been killed and expressed condolences to the relatives of the victims.
“Two years ago, 8 miners were killed at the Stepova mine. Recently, 17 miners were killed at the Skhidkarbon mine near Luhansk. These are all our people. Problems in the coal industry have common roots wherever they arise,” he said.
He said that during the last week he had visited two places where Ukrainians are being killed.
“Bullets and shells kill on the front line. And irresponsibility, mismanagement and corruption kill on the rear,” Zelenskyi said.
Issues in the energy sphere were discussed during the meeting and appropriate decisions will be made in the near future.
“The stakes are extremely high – the safety and welfare of our people,” he noted.
Zelenskyi stated that during 2014-2018, coal production by state enterprises of Ukraine had decreased by 47%. The Ukrainian economy is critically dependent on the import of energy resources, and very little has been done to obtain them from different sources.
“Despite rosy statements, gas production does not increase. Tomorrow is summer, but winter is coming. And we should prepare for the heating season,” he said.
Zelenskyi reminded that one of Ukraine’s commitments to the European Union was the reform of the energy sector with the demonopolization of energy markets being the key issue. Starting from July 1, 2019, the next stage of the electricity market should start.
“However, in conditions of total monopolization, there may be risks for producers, for consumers and for the Ukrainian economy as a whole. The international partners warn us against that,” Zelenskyi emphasized.
