Bulgaria Ready to Assist Ukraine with Winter Electricity Supply

Bulgaria is positioned to assist Ukraine with electricity during the winter months, as confirmed in a recent meeting between Acting Energy Minister Vladimir Malinov and his Ukrainian counterpart, Herman Halushchenko. Malinov, attending a conference on Ukraine's nuclear security in Paris, discussed critical issues surrounding Ukraine's energy security, particularly the need to boost the capacity of its electricity transmission network from 1.7 to 2.5 gigawatts. The Ministry of Energy indicated that Bulgaria is exploring opportunities to provide solidarity assistance by supplying electricity this winter, although further details about the discussions were not disclosed.

Currently, Bulgaria lacks direct infrastructure to export electricity to Ukraine, but such support could be facilitated through Romania and Moldova. The talks between Malinov and Halushchenko also touched on the potential sale of reactors from the Belene Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) to Ukraine, with limited details provided.

In July 2023, Bulgaria and Ukraine signed a memorandum of cooperation regarding nuclear energy during President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to Bulgaria. Following this, a working group was formed to assess the feasibility of purchasing two VVER 1000 reactors from the halted Belene NPP project for installation at the Khmelnytskyi NPP in Ukraine. The Bulgarian National Assembly recently extended the mandate for the Energy Minister to negotiate the sale of this equipment, though there are concerns that Ukraine may be reconsidering the purchase. Reports indicate growing opposition to the deal within Ukrainian political circles, including members of the ruling Servant of the People party.

During his visit to Paris, Minister Malinov also met with Andrew Light, the US...