Ukrainian energy officials, together with European partners, have already inspected eight decommissioned combined heat and power plants in Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Austria, Croatia, and the Netherlands with the aim of potentially supplying the surplus equipment to Ukraine, said Denys Shmyhal, Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister for Energy.
According to him, equipment from European power facilities is already being used to strengthen the resilience of Ukraine’s power grid. The Ministry of Energy has carried out 199 shipments of equipment, which is now in operation at energy facilities in the Vinnytsia, Kyiv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Khmelnytskyi, Rivne, Dnipropetrovsk, and other regions.
Lithuania has made the largest contribution to this effort. Through the Lithuanian energy company AB Ignitis Gamyba, Ukraine received 152 shipments of equipment. Another 41 shipments were delivered to Ukraine thanks to cooperation with the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant.
Germany is also providing support to Ukraine. Thanks to RWE Power AG, six shipments of equipment were delivered as part of the first phase of cooperation to companies in central and western Ukraine, Kyiv, and Kharkiv.
A separate initiative is currently underway with Latvia. According to Shmyhal, Ukraine is actively working to relocate equipment from the Riga CHPP-2.
“The facilities of interest to Ukrainian companies have already been identified. The amount and source of funds required to dismantle the relevant equipment have also been determined,” the First Deputy Prime Minister said.
For Ukraine, the supply of equipment from European thermal power plants is of critical importance amid Russia’s ongoing attacks on energy infrastructure. This involves not only replacing damaged components but also creating an additional reserve for the heating season, restoring generation and distribution capacity, and enhancing the resilience of regional power systems.
The practice of transferring equipment from decommissioned European power plants allows for a faster response to some of Ukraine’s energy needs, as many components are already physically available and can be adapted for use at Ukrainian facilities. At the same time, such deliveries require technical inspections, dismantling, logistics, financing, and coordination among Ukrainian companies, European operators, and government agencies.
Since the start of the full-scale war, Ukraine has regularly received energy equipment from EU countries, international organizations, and private companies. This equipment is used to repair damaged power plants, substations, thermal facilities, grids, and critical infrastructure.
