Ukraine and Germany to build wind farm around Chornobyl nuclear plant

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock visited an electrical substation near Kyiv and spoke in favor of increasing the share of renewable energy.

The correspondent of the ARD TV channel reported from the scene, Rubryka reports.

What is the problem?

Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov informed the German delegation about the Ukrainian government's efforts to ensure the energy supply before the winter.

The station the delegation visited has a capacity of about 2,000 megawatts and is responsible for a significant part of the region's electricity supply. The station was hit several times by Russian missiles and Iranian-made kamikaze drones.

Russian forces launched a serious attack recently, destroying parts of the facility. Later, the station was rebuilt with nets to intercept low-flying drones.

How does it work?

Baerbock, a member of Germany's Green party, also raised the topic of renewable energy development in Ukraine. According to the minister, Ukraine should use renewable energy sources more.

The minister said she considered building a wind power plant around the Chornobyl nuclear plant reasonable, so Ukraine and Germany signed a joint declaration of intent.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany stated that last winter, Russia launched more than 1,500 attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, so the focus of the visit to Kyiv is steps to ensure and protect the power supply, especially in winter. At the end of 2022, Germany made the largest contribution of €130 million to the Energy Support Fund of Ukraine.

Baerbock arrived in Kyiv on Monday morning with an unannounced visit. This is the fourth visit of the German Foreign Minister to Ukraine. Baerbock became the first member of the German cabinet to visit Ukraine's east in January after the start of the full-scale war.

In January of this year, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany, Annalena Baerbok, visited Kharkiv. Before that, she was in Kyiv twice — in mid-May 2022 and mid-September last year.