Ukraine and Romania discussed the development of electricity interconnectors, the use of gas corridors, and the expansion of cooperation in the field of gas production during the first online meeting between Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy Denys Shmyhal and Romania’s Minister of Energy Dumitru Căsălicea.
“The agenda included the region’s energy security and the implementation of joint energy projects,” Shmyhal wrote on his Telegram channel.
According to him, the parties focused on the development of electricity interconnectors between the countries—which would provide nearly 1 GW of additional transmission capacity—and discussed deepening bilateral cooperation in this area.
Logistical issues related to fuel supplies were also discussed. Shmyhal informed his Romanian counterpart about Ukraine’s proposals to increase the capacity of border crossing points and open new transit routes.
Particular attention was paid to the use of the Vertical and Trans-Balkan gas corridors and the development of new interconnectors. The Ukrainian side noted Romania’s role in implementing the roadmap for the Trans-Balkan route, particularly in introducing more competitive tariff conditions.
“We also count on Romanian companies’ interest in storing part of their gas in Ukrainian gas storage facilities as part of the development of the Vertical Corridor,” Shmyhal noted.
Following the meeting, the parties agreed to work together to establish cooperation between Ukrainian and Romanian companies in the field of gas production and field development.
Source: https://t.me/Denys_Smyhal/13224
OKKO Group plans to commission its 147 MW wind farm in the Volyn region by the end of this year or early next year and has begun construction of a second 190 MW wind farm in the Volyn region, according to the group’s CEO, Vasyl Danylyak.
“By the end of the year—possibly in the first quarter of 2027—we will commission the 147-MW wind farm. This project is being financed jointly with the EBRD, the IFC, and the CEB. Construction of a 190-MW wind farm has already begun nearby,” Danilyak said during the Kyiv International Economic Forum on Monday.
He noted that the construction cost of the 147-MW wind farm is approximately 200 million euros, while that of the 190-MW wind farm is 300 million euros.
Danylyak also confirmed that OKKO will commission its bioethanol plant next year.
According to OKKO’s CEO, new opportunities in the energy sector are driving the group to invest during the war.
“The war has exposed many problems in the energy system; large facilities have become vulnerable to attacks, and the absolutely correct direction for development—toward the decentralization of power generation—has been set,” Danilyak noted.
As previously reported, on June 17, 2026, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) approved a decision to provide a long-term loan of up to EUR50 million to Volyn West Wind-2 LLC and Volyn West Wind-3 LLC, which are majority-owned by VI.AN Holding, part of the OKKO Group, to finance the construction and operation of a 189-MW wind farm in Ukraine.
The EBRD loan will be part of the project’s secured debt financing, which also involves the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB).
In April 2025, the EBRD, IFC, and BSTDB announced a EUR157 million loan to the “Galnaftogaz” group for a 147-MW wind farm in the Volyn region.
OKKO had planned to launch a bioethanol plant with an investment of EUR110 million in the third quarter of 2026, but the launch had to be postponed due to delays in equipment delivery.
The OKKO Group comprises more than 10 diverse businesses in the fields of manufacturing, trade, construction, insurance, services, and other sectors. The group’s flagship company is the “Galnaftogaz” concern, which operates one of Ukraine’s largest gas station networks under the “OKKO” brand, comprising approximately 400 gas stations.
The founder and ultimate beneficiary of the group is Vitaliy Antonov.
Finland is allocating EUR5 million to support Ukraine’s energy sector and is also donating ten locomotives to assist the country’s railway infrastructure, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo announced.
“Due to Russian attacks on Ukraine’s railway infrastructure, we… are transferring 10 locomotives to Ukraine. We hope they will help keep your society moving while Russia tries to bring it to a halt. We are allocating EUR5 million to the Ukraine Energy Support Fund. This fund complements Finland’s existing support for energy resilience, providing assistance where and when it is needed,” Orpo said at a press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, according to an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent.
He also announced that Finland will provide Ukraine with mobile heating containers in December, capable of heating medium-sized hospitals or apartment buildings.
Orpo added that Finland is preparing additional support totaling EUR3 million as part of Ukraine’s recovery program and will continue to provide significant support in the form of defense equipment.
“This year, we have provided Ukraine with five defense aid packages totaling over half a billion euros. We are currently preparing 36 packages, and we are doing so in close cooperation with the Ukrainian military. And we intend to make a decision by the end of this year,” he emphasized.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced the launch of a bilateral strategic partnership aimed at developing cooperation in the energy, defense, and economic sectors.
“Today, President Erdoğan and I launched the new Canada-Turkey Strategic Partnership to create significant new opportunities for our peoples,” Carney wrote on social media platform X on Thursday.
According to him, the cooperation will cover the energy sector, the extractive industries, climate initiatives, as well as security and defense issues. “We are deepening our ties to counter common threats and open new markets for our workers and businesses. This is an ambitious partnership for a safer and more prosperous future,” the Canadian prime minister emphasized.
Ukraine has close trade and economic ties with both countries: the Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement (CUFTA) has been in effect since 2017 (with subsequent updates), while the free trade agreement with Turkey officially entered into force in 2026, significantly expanding access for Ukrainian goods to the markets of both strategic partners.
According to Serbian Economist, the American conservative organization CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference), which has close ties to the U.S. Republican Party and President Donald Trump’s political circle, will hold the first CPAC Balkans conference in Belgrade from November 18 to 21, 2026. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić will be the keynote speaker at the event.
This will be the first time the conference is held in Southeast Europe, and it will bring together conservative politicians, representatives of civil society organizations, experts, and supporters of right-wing political movements from the Balkan states. The organizers intend to discuss issues of national sovereignty, economic policy, free enterprise, traditional values, and international cooperation.
One of the central themes will be energy security in the Balkan region. According to CPAC, increased supplies of American energy resources could help diversify energy imports and reduce the Balkan states’ dependence on individual suppliers.
The organizers view the United States as a potential partner for countries in the region in ensuring energy independence. Discussion of this issue is of particular importance for Serbia, which continues to diversify its natural gas supply sources and develop energy cooperation with foreign partners.
CPAC Chairman Matt Schlapp stated that the organization welcomes the holding of the first Balkan conference in Serbia. He highlighted the role of Aleksandar Vučić in developing strategic cooperation between Belgrade and Washington and expressed satisfaction with his upcoming speech.
According to Schlapp, conservative political movements have achieved significant success in North and South America, as well as in Japan. The organizers expect that hosting CPAC Balkans will help expand the international networks of European conservative organizations.
CPAC has already held international conferences in Hungary, Japan, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, Israel, Argentina, Paraguay, Poland, the United Kingdom, and Italy. The Belgrade meeting will mark the next step in expanding the organization’s international network.
The choice of Serbia as the conference venue reflects the desire of American conservative circles to expand their political presence in the Balkans and strengthen ties with the leadership of countries in the region.
The names of the remaining participants and the detailed conference program have not yet been published. The organizers promise to release them in the coming weeks.
CPAC is not a U.S. government agency or an official body of the Republican Party, although its events are traditionally attended by leading figures from the American political right, including Donald Trump.
The global copper industry will need approximately $332 billion in new investment in mining projects by 2050 to prevent a large-scale shortage of the metal, which could reach 20 million tonnes per year, or 44% of projected demand. This is stated in the Transition Metals Outlook 2026 study by analytical company BloombergNEF (BNEF), published on October 20, 2026.
According to the forecast, the global copper market could face a deficit as early as 2028, as the expansion of mining capacity lags behind consumption growth. The main drivers of increasing demand will be the electrification of transport, modernization of power grids, industrial development, and infrastructure construction.
BNEF analysts expect global copper consumption to increase by 61% by 2050 compared with 2026, reaching almost 46 million tonnes.
At the same time, demand for copper associated with the electrification of the economy will grow by 89%, to 23.3 million tonnes. Thus, these areas will account for more than half of global metal consumption.
Electric transportation will become the fastest-growing segment. Copper use in electric cars, electric trucks, buses, and related infrastructure will increase by 244%, reaching 11.4 million tonnes by the middle of the century.
Copper is essential for the production of electric motors, inverters, batteries, high-voltage wiring, and charging stations. In addition, the metal is widely used in construction, industrial equipment, electrical grids, and consumer electronics.
According to BloombergNEF estimates, existing global copper ore reserves are sufficient to meet long-term needs, but the problem lies in the insufficient pace of developing new deposits and expanding existing operations.
The average period from the start of project development to the commissioning of a new copper mine is approximately 17 years. As a result, even with the necessary $332 billion in investment, the metal shortage could persist until at least 2043.
Additional challenges arise from declining copper grades in mined ore, rising production costs, and insufficient funding for geological exploration in previous years.
Without new capital investment, global copper supply could decline by 14.5%, from 30 million tonnes in 2026 to 25.7 million tonnes in 2050. The development of copper scrap recycling will partially offset the decline in primary production but will not be able to completely eliminate the projected shortage.
Chile, according to BloombergNEF’s forecast, will retain its status as the largest producer of primary copper. However, production in the country could decline from 5.8 million tonnes in 2026 to 4.8 million tonnes in 2050.
Despite the decline in absolute production volumes, Chile’s share of global primary copper production could increase from 24% to 28%, as reductions in other countries will be more significant.
Analysts warn that a prolonged copper shortage could lead to higher global prices and increased costs for energy equipment, electric transportation, and infrastructure projects. In certain segments, manufacturers may be forced to make greater use of alternative materials.
Martin Tengler, head of metals and mining research at BloombergNEF, noted that the situation regarding the supply of raw materials to the global economy has changed significantly compared with previous forecasts.
According to him, the development of new production capacity and improvements in battery technologies have reduced the risks of shortages of most energy transition metals. However, the main challenge is becoming ensuring the availability of the necessary materials in specific regions and at the required times.
At the same time, copper remains the main exception to the overall trend of improving forecasts.
According to Transition Metals Outlook 2026, nine of the ten metals and materials studied could potentially have sufficient production capacity by 2050, provided investment continues and depleted reserves are replaced.
In particular, global lithium consumption is expected to nearly triple, from 1.6 million to 4.8 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent, while demand for graphite will more than double, from 3.3 million to 6.9 million tonnes.
At the same time, the increasing adoption of lithium iron phosphate batteries is reducing the expected need for nickel and cobalt compared with previous forecasts.
China continues to dominate the processing of energy transition metals. According to BloombergNEF, for eight of the ten materials studied, more than half of global processing capacity is concentrated in a single country, and for seven of these materials, that country is China.
The Experts Club analytical center has produced a video overview of the world’s largest copper-producing countries and a comparison of copper production from 1971 to 2025.
