The minister made the statement in a Twitter post after a conversation with World Bank Group Director of Operations Anna Bjerde.
“Had a conversation with Anna Bjerde; I thanked for its consistent support for Ukraine, in particular for our energy system,” said Shmyhal.
“We agreed on further assistance: the World Bank plans to allocate up to $40 million grant for Ukrenergo to procure equipment needed to restore energy system capacity.”
Earlier on Feb. 2, Ukrenergo ordered emergency power outages in Kyiv and the surrounding region in the afternoon, as severe weather continues to hinder repairs and puts additional load on the damaged infrastructure.
On Jan. 31, weather conditions triggered a cascading grid failure, with much of central Ukraine getting disconnected from power lines for several hours. Kyiv was left without water supply and metro service in the middle of the day.
The Digital Transformation Ministry later said the outage was not caused by a cyberattack. Preliminary assessments indicate the failure resulted from ice buildup on lines and equipment.