Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna stressed at an extraordinary video meeting of the G7+ Ukraine Energy Support Group held today, 23 January, that Russia is weaponising attacks against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and that we must not allow cold and darkness to change the course of the war.
“Russia has not abandoned its objectives and has intensified its attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure,” Tsahkna noted. “By now, there is not a single power plant in Ukraine that has not been targeted by Russia’s terror. Millions of Ukrainians are living without electricity, heating and water, and thousands have been forced to leave their homes,” he said.
“Putin is using cold and darkness as a weapon, terrorising millions of Ukrainians who are trying to survive in Ukraine while battling freezing temperatures,” Tsahkna said. “We must not allow Putin to achieve his goal and let the cold change the course of the war.”
The foreign minister stressed that increasing support for Ukraine’s energy infrastructure is of critical importance. “Every generator, every repaired cable and every euro donated sends Putin a clear message: Ukraine will not break,” Tsahkna said. “Ukrainians’ courage is admirable, but courage alone will not win the war.”
According to Tsahkna, international pressure on Russia must be increased further. “We must move forward with adopting the 20th sanctions package, which should include additional measures against Russia’s gas transit and energy companies,” he noted. “Estonia also supports the European Union’s RePowerEU plan, which aims to end imports of Russian energy into Europe by 2027.”
At the end of last year, Estonia allocated two million euros to the Ukraine Energy Support Fund, bringing Estonia’s total contribution to Ukraine’s energy sector since the start of the full-scale war to nearly three million euros. In addition, the state is working closely with companies to identify opportunities to send equipment to Ukraine for restoring electricity connections. The Estonian Refugee Council and the NGO Mondo have also launched campaigns to raise donations to supply generators, fuel and other essential items to Ukraine.
Today, at Estonia’s initiative, the foreign ministers of the Nordic-Baltic countries also issued a joint statement emphasising their strong condemnation of Russia’s continued attacks on Ukrainian cities and critical energy infrastructure. The joint statement notes that Russia’s aim of leaving people without electricity, heating and water in the middle of winter violates international humanitarian law. The attacks also critically affect Ukraine’s nuclear safety, and unhindered access for inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to Ukraine’s nuclear power plants is essential. The NB8 foreign ministers also reaffirmed their unwavering solidarity with Ukraine, their readiness to continue providing political, military, financial and humanitarian assistance, and their efforts to achieve a lasting peace in line with international law. In addition, the Nordic-Baltic foreign ministers once again reaffirmed their commitment to the principles of independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
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