Robin Millar – 2022 Parliamentary Question on Energy Supplies in Ukraine

The parliamentary question asked by Robin Millar, the Conservative MP for Aberconwy, in the House of Commons on 13 December 2022.

Robin Millar (Aberconwy) (Con)

What assessment he has made of the impact of UK diplomatic and development support to Ukraine on the resilience of Ukraine’s energy supplies.

The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Anne-Marie Trevelyan)

We are supporting Ukraine on air defence to help to protect its critical national infrastructure against Russian attacks, and providing support to repair and restore energy infrastructure. We have provided £22 million to Ukraine’s energy sector and a $50 million financial guarantee to their electricity operator.

Robin Millar

Fully 40% of energy infrastructure in Ukraine has been damaged or destroyed since Putin’s illegal invasion. After one strike in October, 1.5 million households were without electricity, and a winter of freezing days and dark nights lies ahead for many in Ukraine. I welcome the aid that my right hon. Friend mentions, and the £10 million that has been donated to the Ukraine energy support fund, but does she back the Business Secretary’s calls to UK business to help the UK Government and make donations of emergency energy equipment to Ukraine?

Anne-Marie Trevelyan

My hon. Friend is right that the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Department for International Trade are mobilising UK industry. The DIT held an event in Manchester yesterday with UK supply chain companies to encourage them to find ways to supply Ukraine with energy equipment and services. High-voltage transformers and more generators—the UK has already provided 850—will continue to be needed through the winter.