During a ministerial meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Monday, 23 September, G7+ foreign ministers reaffirmed their support for Ukraine in the face of Russia’s “brutal and unjust” attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
Just like the European Commission—which, last week, unveiled a new €160 million aid package specifically to support Ukraine’s energy system as winter approaches (see EUROPE 13486/1)—G7+ ministers strongly condemned Russia’s incessant missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure.
These strikes, which have escalated since March 2024, “severely threaten Ukraine’s energy security and the Ukrainian people’s access to critical services including electricity, heat, and water during the cold winter months, which could be the harshest for Ukraine since at least its independence”, emphasises the joint statement by the G7+ and the US government.
The statement’s signatories also recognise the regional implications of these attacks—in particular, the implications for Moldova’s energy security.
Furthermore, they stress the importance of implementing energy sector reforms that are in line with the EU accession process as well as the importance of monitoring the implementation of the National Energy and Climate Plan.
G7+ countries thus reiterated their desire to see Ukraine equip itself with a “more decentralised, diversified, resilient, and renewable/sustainable energy system that is fully integrated with Europe”.
They also condemned the fact that Russia seized Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which constitutes a threat to energy security.
Finally, the G7+ called on international partners to increase their financial contributions, especially to the Energy Community’s Ukraine Energy Support Fund (see EUROPE 13453/18) in order to improve Ukraine’s resilience this winter.
The ministerial meeting was attended by the following: the United States, Italy, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, the Republic of Korea, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, and Ukraine.
To see the statement: https://aeur.eu/f/djp (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)