EU aims to accelerate aid to Moldova amid Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure

The European Union is willing to speed up energy assistance to both Moldova and Ukraine in the context of Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure. Spokesperson of the European Commission on energy issues Anna-Kaisa Itkonen made the statement today.


“What we are doing now with Ukraine and Moldova, especially in this situation, is committing to accelerate the aid provided to both Moldova and Ukraine. We are working to integrate their systems into our network, to fund repairs, and to strengthen resilience against such aggression. We are in close contact with the authorities in Chisinau and Kyiv, as well as with delegations from both countries,” stated Anna-Kaisa Itkonen.


The official emphasized that “Moscow continues to weaponize winter.”


“Russia has been brutally and systematically attacking Ukraine’s energy infrastructure for many years. The weekend attacks resulted in multiple power outages affecting both Ukraine and Moldova. This shows how Moscow continues to weaponize winter in the war it wages. We condemn these attacks in the strongest terms,” mentioned the spokesperson of the European Commission.


On the night of Friday to Saturday, a large-scale Russian airstrike hit Ukraine’s power grid, causing injuries and emergency power outages in several regions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky once again accused Moscow of targeting civilian infrastructure. The U.S.-based CSIS Institute estimated that the attack involved about 653 drones and 51 missiles, including cruise missiles, making it probably the third most severe airstrike since the war began in February 2022.

In this context, Moldova's Energy Minister Dorin Junghietu announced on 7 December that the Moldovan power system is under pressure following massive Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. The strikes damaged a significant energy group near Moldova, and interconnection lines are nearing their load limit.

As a result of exceeding the planned flow, the national operator, Moldelectrica, requested emergency assistance from Romania for the coming hours, a measure intended to stabilize the grid and avoid the risk of overloads.