Yuriy Korolchuk, a member of the Supervisory Board of the Institute of Energy Strategies, expressed the opinion that Russian electricity supplies to Ukraine could trigger a scandal similar to the one involving South African coal supplies. This is because they are attempting to involve a dubious intermediary in the supply chain—this time, a Cypriot offshore company.
According to Korolchuk, the lobbying for the Cypriot company Perlisio Enterprises Limited is being carried out by Ukraine, not Russia. "Russia had one demand: to ensure electricity supplies to Crimea," Korolchuk noted.
An expert suggested that the resignation of Ukrinterenergo head Ihor Romanenko is linked to his refusal to sign this agreement and his reluctance to repeat the fate of the previous head, Volodymyr Zinevich, who was arrested in a criminal case involving coal purchases from South Africa. "Apparently, Zinevich was convinced that everything would be fine. This trick didn't work with Romanenko; he chose to resign rather than participate in this dubious scheme," Korolchuk emphasized. The expert notes that the organization of electricity imports from Russia is carried out covertly. The current government has mercilessly criticized similar schemes in the gas sector. But now it has itself introduced suspicious intermediaries into electricity supplies, and the Ukrainian state-owned company Ukrinterenergo, whose functions include import-export operations in the energy sector, has been barred. The involvement of suspicious Cypriot intermediaries is increasingly undermining trust in the government's actions.
Korolchuk doesn't rule out the possibility that other companies, in addition to the Cypriot company, will also be granted the right to import electricity. The energy situation could become critical due to a coal shortage. In that case, only electricity imports could save Ukraine.
Some media outlets reported that the Cypriot company Perlisio Enterprises Limited, which represents the interests of the Russian company Inter RAO, intends to supply electricity from Russia. Inter RAO denied this information.
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