Rebuilding Ukraine: Lithuania pledges €5 mln to install solar power plants in Ukraine

The Lithuanian government has approved a program to support Ukraine's energy sector. Five million euros will be allocated for the installation of solar power plants.

The Lithuanian broadcaster LRT reported that.

Rasa Kairiene, Head of the Development Cooperation Department of the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry, noted that equipment for solar power plants must be reliable and protected from cyberattacks, so it is desirable that it be of European production.

"We will try to include in the procurement process a condition that the equipment must come from the European Union or European economies," Kairiene said at a government meeting on Wednesday.

The draft government decision prepared by the ministry states that "Ukrainian high-ranking officials at all bilateral and multilateral meetings ask for increased support for Ukraine's energy system and help create more decentralized electricity generation capacities."

According to the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry, total support from Lithuania to Ukraine will reach 1.45 billion euros from February 2022 to the end of this year.

As reported, the "Main Directions of Lithuania's Participation in the Reconstruction and Restoration of Ukraine for the Period 2024-2027," approved by the Lithuanian government in October, provide support for the construction of schools and shelters, the purchase of demining equipment, promoting Ukraine's European integration, and strengthening the resilience of the country's energy sector.

For reference:

Since the beginning of the year, the Russian Federation has carried out nine massive attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure. As a result of this and the intense summer heat, emergency and scheduled power outages have been introduced in the country for months.

As reported, on the night of September 13, Russian troops attacked Ukraine with 26 Shahed 131/136 attack drones. Air defense forces destroyed 24 enemy drones.

The head of the Ukrainian government, Denys Shmyhal, said that Russian troops are preparing for new strikes on Ukraine's energy system.

Shmyhal emphasized that the Russian military will not give Ukrainians such a "luxury" as simply living peacefully.

"We understand that the enemy will not give us such a "luxury" just to live peacefully; their terrorist and genocidal policy will continue. We already know from intelligence that the next massive missile and drone strikes on our energy system are being prepared," the PM emphasized.

At the same time, Shmyhal explained that Ukraine has already lost half of its pre-war electricity consumption, namely 9 gigawatts.

On September 12, 2024, blackouts began to reoccur in Kyiv and several other regions.