The NATO-Ukraine Council (NUC) met on Wednesday (8 November 2023) at NATO Headquarters to discuss energy security. The meeting was chaired by Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană, with the participation of Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Energy Farid Safarov, Deputy Chairman of the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine Oleksandr Potii, and Deputy Chief of Staff of Ukrainian Air Force Hennadii Sheludko.
The Deputy Secretary General stressed that last year Russia attempted to use winter as a weapon against Ukraine, launching hundreds of drones and missiles at Ukraine's power system and targeting it with cyber-attacks. Mr Geoană commended Ukraine for its resilience against these attacks and for the swift and innovative repair of its power grid. He also welcomed the role of Allies, who supplied air defence systems to Ukraine, provided emergency exports of electricity, and donated spare parts and autotransformers to mitigate the effects of the strikes.
David van Weel, Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges, also briefed the meeting on NATO's role in helping Ukraine in the field of energy security. The NATO-Ukraine Council is a joint body where Allies and Ukraine meet for crisis consultations and joint decision making. Today was the fourth meeting of the NUC since its first meeting at the Vilnius Summit in July with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
