Дениса Шмигаля призначили першим віцепрем’єр-міністром та міністром енергетики України
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Wednesday, 14 January, appointed Denys Shmyhal as First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy. The decision was supported by 248 MPs, 20 abstained, and two voted against.
The day before, on 13 January, the attempt to appoint him did not receive the required number of votes - 210 MPs supported the candidate. On the same day, the Verkhovna Rada voted to dismiss Denys Shmyhal from the post of Minister of Defence of Ukraine.
After his appointment, Shmyhal stated that it was a special responsibility for him to lead the Ministry of Energy in a situation where Ukraine is under constant Russian attacks on its energy infrastructure for the fourth winter in a row. According to him, the key task is to overcome the acute phase of the energy crisis as soon as possible through accelerated decision-making, enhanced coordination between all responsible agencies and the development of a unified action plan.
In his Telegram, the newly appointed Minister outlined three main areas of work: restoration, resilience and modernisation of the energy system. Among the priorities, he named the restoration of generation, substations and networks, the formation of equipment and capacity reserves, the restoration of gas production and gas transmission infrastructure, as well as the creation of special "energy battalions" in the frontline areas for prompt repairs and protection of facilities.
Shmyhal paid special attention to increasing the system's resilience, in particular, expanding projects to protect energy facilities with the participation of air defence and electronic warfare, developing decentralised generation and building engineering defences. In the area of modernisation, he announced investments in new fields, development of public-private partnerships, launch of the digital service Single Payment and completion of Ukraine's integration into the European energy space.
Shmyhal also stressed that, despite the difficult situation, the power system continues to operate, and thanked the power engineers, utilities, engineers and repair teams who restore light and heat to Ukrainian homes every day.
Denys Shmyhal, Minister of Energy of Ukraine, First Vice Prime Minister, Verkhovna Rada, energy crisis, energy recovery
