Poland says Ukraine ready to offer electricity as alternative to banned Russian coal

Poland on Friday, September 9 announced that Ukraine is ready to supply neighbouring Warsaw with electricity to alleviate the energy crisis that has gripped Europe and help reduce the use of coal for power generation. At a presser shortly after a dialogue with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv alongside Latvia's President Egils Levits, Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki officially announced that Kyiv has extended help to supply electricity, as well as thanked Zelenskyy for his "understanding" and readiness to provide needed assistance in a short notice.

The two leaders from Poland and Latvia held talks with the Ukrainian president about defence and energy security as Russia continues to wage brutal war on Europe's eastern flank. 

The Polish government had earlier approved measures to ban the imports of Russian coal. Polish prime minister admitted that while there are “legal doubts” over a unilateral embargo by a European Union, Warsaw could not "wait any longer” for Brussels to act against Ukraine's adversary. The latter has also been weaning itself off Russian gas exports. Morawiecki declared that it would be the first time that his country, which strongly opposes the military aggression of Moscow, would be “independent from its energy reliance in decades."

During a joint news conference alongside Zelenskyy, Morawiecki said, "Today, because of the embargo on Russian coal, we are bringing in coal from around the world." 

“If we are not to burn it in Polish power plants, we could use some energy from Ukraine, if possible. I was told by the president that yes, it will be possible, shortly,” the Polish leader asserted. 

Attempts to deter 'potential, future energy crisis'

Ukraine's president Zelesnkyy acknowledged Europe's looming energy crisis and its needs. He agreed to provide electricity to neighbouring Poland in order to deter the “potential, future energy crisis.” In an effort to implement this plant, Zelenskyy also announced that his country would work towards easing the backlog of trucks that have been waiting on both sides, mainly to enter Poland. He then thanked Europe for pledging an estimated 5 billion euros in long-term assistance to war-torn Ukraine. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center, Latvian President Egils Levits, right, and Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki seen at the "Walk of the Brave" in Kyiv, Ukraine. Credit: AP

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, earlier during his visit to Berlin, had similarly made an announcement that his country is prepared to supply Germany with electricity to enable the bloc to shrink 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. 

In response to the EU's embargo on Russian oil, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov had said that the measures will have a "negative impact" on the Europeans, Russians and the entire global market. Peskov had stressed that the European market is quite important for Russia in terms of supplies, including the volumes of sales. Russian President Vladimir Putin's Press Secretary, Dmitry Peskov, said that they will be "redirecting" spare volumes of oil to other destinations, referring to Asian and African allies.