Schmyhal also met Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin In the looming gas and electricity crisis in Europe, Ukraine wants to help with nuclear power. “Currently, Ukraine exports electricity to Moldova, Romania, Slovakia and Poland. But we are ready to expand our exports to Germany,” said Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Schmyhal on the sidelines of his visit to Germany.
Schmyhal met Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin on Sunday. Ukraine is one of the largest nuclear power producers in Europe.
The head of government from Kyiv wrote on Twitter that he had discussed further aid with Steinmeier, including new German arms deliveries to Ukraine. The topic was also a tightening of the sanctions against Russia and reconstruction aid for his country. Schmyhal thanked Germany for the support.
“In order to expel the occupiers from our country, Ukraine needs even more heavy weapons from the allies,” Schmyhal wrote on Telegram after his meeting with Steinmeier. “The Mars II artillery systems and Panzerhaubitzen 2000 handed over by Germany have performed well on the battlefield, and we hope for an increased supply of heavy weapons. In addition, we expect the state-of-the-art Iris-T air defense system from German production in the fall.”
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Meanwhile, the European Union is preparing a €5 billion package of macroeconomic aid for Ukraine. So far, according to the Europe portal Euractiv, only Hungary has opposed it. According to the Bloomberg news agency, Germany insists on not lending the money to Ukraine, otherwise national bankruptcy would be inevitable given the national debt that could not be serviced.
Grain exports are going well
On the sidelines of his Berlin visit, Schmyhal also announced that he was expecting the five billion tranche this week. “This will help ensure the stability of our economy, support for the army and the passage of the heating season,” Schmyhal said. Meanwhile, fighting in Ukraine continued unabated. The British secret service confirmed that Ukraine had gained ground during its offensive in the south of the country.
In the meantime, grain exports from the Ukraine are also getting going: on Sunday alone, 13 freighters left the Black Sea ports of Odessa, Pivdenne and Chornomorsk. A total of 86 ships full of grain, but mostly corn for animal feed, have already left Ukrainian ports. After Russia had blocked Ukrainian seaports for months, the UN and Turkey were able to broker a grain corridor for world markets between the warring parties.
In August, 4.6 million tons of grain could be shipped – more than at any time since the beginning of the war on February 24th. Before the war, five to six million tons were exported every month. Now, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, it should be three million tons a month.
More: Gazprom halts gas supplies via Nord Stream 1