On November 16, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Ukraine and Greece had reached an agreement on a new gas supply route, and signed additional financing agreements for gas imports.
From today, we have prepared a gas deal for Ukraine, Zelensky said, adding, This will be another route for gas imports, to maximize the safety of import routes in the winter.
Accordingly, the gas import sponsorship deal with Greece will provide nearly 2 billion euros (about 2.3 billion USD) to compensate for the losses in Ukraine's gas production due to the conflict with Russia.
In addition to Greece, Ukraine is also seeking support from its allies and European banks in gas imports, including Norway, the United States and the European Commission (EC), Mr. Zelensky said.
The deal with Greece comes as Russia continues to attack Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure, leaving the country without power and cool before the winter.
Russian airstrikes will increase in 2025, especially targeting gas infrastructure and heating systems. In just the past two weeks, attacks on November 8 and 14 have caused serious damage, causing widespread power outages in many areas.
The situation has been further aggravated by the internal crisis in Ukraine in recent days, when a series of international news agencies exposed major corruption scandals involving many senior officials of the Kiev government.
Notably, some of the subjects accused of receiving bribes from contractors of state-owned energy enterprises are said to be close to President Zelensky. This has significantly reduced the level of trust in the Ukrainian leader and the Kiev government in the eyes of the international community and its allies.
On November 15, Mr. Zelensky announced that Ukraine will conduct comprehensive reforms of state-owned energy companies, including changes in leadership and extensive financial audits.
