Energy Support Fund deficit does not cover energy companies’ requests for $500 million — Galushchenko

At the moment, the deficit of the Ukrainian Energy Support Fund for applications from domestic energy companies is almost 500 million dollars, Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko reported at a meeting of the EU Council of Energy Ministers in Brussels on March 17.

“The Energy Support Fund for Ukraine is extremely important… We must ensure the functioning of this mechanism, as it has proven its effectiveness,” he noted.

The Minister emphasized that Ukraine had experienced the most difficult winter for the energy sector, suffering significant losses, in particular in the area of electricity generation, while practically not imposing restrictions on electricity supplies. According to him, there is not a single region in Ukraine where energy facilities have not been attacked by Russian troops, and the total number of damages amounts to thousands of cases. At the same time, new destruction and damage to the energy system occurs every day, the enemy is intensifying shelling.

According to Galushchenko, one of the main priorities for protecting the energy sector remains air defense.

“The enemy is using increasingly modern types of weapons. These are not only drones, but also missiles, ballistic missiles, which are becoming increasingly complex targets. They are modifying their weapons to more effectively destroy energy infrastructure and using them more massively. Therefore, we need to increase the level of protection. This is the optimal solution for protecting the energy sector,” he emphasized.

The physical protection of facilities and the restoration and strengthening of energy infrastructure also remain important.

The Energy Support Fund was established in April 2022 on the initiative of Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko and European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson.

As of early March 2025, pledged partner contributions to the fund exceeded €1 billion. Its donors include both the public and private sectors from more than 30 countries, as well as international and regional organizations.