UPDATE: Ukraine confirms ban on Russian power imports till Oct 1

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KIEV, May 26 (PRIME) -- Ukraine's Prime Minister Denis Shmygal has confirmed on Wednesday a prohibition of electric power imports from Russia and Belarus until October 1.

"Starting from today, the National Energy and Utilities Regulatory Commission has decided to suspend imports of electric power from the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation," Shmygal said at a government meeting.

Ukraine suspended power imports from Russia in April 2020. The national energy and public utilities authority canceled a norm allowing it to annul auctions for imports and exports of electric power from countries outside of Ukraine's energy union from January 1, 2021. This allowed traders to start importing power from Russia and Belarus starting from February 1 and January 3, respectively.

Russia’s Deputy Energy Minister Yevgeny Grabchak said on his Telegram channel that the prohibition of power imports will not affect the Russian energy system. “Even if commercial supplies stop the power systems of the two states will work in sync," he said.

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