Ukraine to supply Germany with electricity to cut reliance on Russia, says PM Shmyhal

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, during his visit to Berlin, said that his country is prepared to supply Germany with electricity in order to help alleviate the energy crisis witnessed by Europe’s largest economy as well as help the bloc cut its dependence on Russian energy imports. In a statement to the German news agency DPA, Shmyhal said: "Currently, Ukraine exports its electricity to Moldova, Romania, Slovakia, and Poland. But we are quite ready to expand our exports to Germany."

"We have a sufficient amount of electricity in Ukraine thanks to our nuclear power plants," Ukraine's premier stated, agreeing to fulfil Germany's electricity needs. 

Shmyhal arrived in Berlin on September 3 and is slated to meet Chancellor Olaf Scholz on September 4. Ukrainian minister reiterated that Ukraine has a surplus in capacity for electricity exports as its own consumption has drastically fallen since the Russian invasion. Russia 

Germany’s federal regulator and industrial giant Siemens Energy have questioned Russia’s reasoning for not resuming gas deliveries that it slashed via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline under the Baltic Sea citing the technical repairs. Germany lambasted Russian President Vladimir Putin for using gas as a weapon in a hybrid war between Ukraine and the West. 

'Won't succumb to Russia's blackmailing'

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock had earlier lambasted Russia, saying that her country has to "put an end to the self-deception that we ever received cheap gas from Russia." She added that Berlin paid for Moscow's gas supply with its "security and independence." In an interview with the German newspaper Bild, Baerbock denounced Russia's authoritarian leader Vladimir Putin for stopping the gas flow to Europe and held him responsible for the war and devastation in Ukraine. "Ukrainians paid for it thousands of times with their lives," Annalena Baerbock said, adding that the gas pipeline for Russia has turned into "weapons of a hybrid war." 

German foreign minister Baerbock had earlier warned Russia that the European Union won't succumb to its "blackmailing" after its state corporation Gazprom slashed the gas supply through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline linking Russia and Germany to half. She labelled the move as Russia’s 'tactic' and yet another attempt to divide the EU nations.