Zelenskyy Secures a Year’s Supply of Diesel for Ukraine in the Middle East: Details
28 March 20:19
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that during his visit to the Middle East, he secured an agreement to supply diesel fuel to Ukraine for at least one year.
According to RBC-Ukraine, the head of state made this statement during a press briefing, as reported by "Komersant Ukrainian".
According to Zelenskyy, Ukraine set two goals for itself and achieved both.
“I needed to reach an agreement; the rest is up to Naftogaz. In the event of a shortage and a major global crisis, how do we ensure the country has, for example, diesel fuel? Yesterday, I secured a supply of diesel for at least a year. That’s it. The rest is now up to our company and local companies,” the president said.
He also noted that Ukraine’s fuel reserves were depleted. The reasons the country did not replenish them include Russian attacks since the start of the war, as well as long-term contracts held by Ukrainian companies, the private sector, or “Ukrnafta.”
“In other words, our reserves are tied up in contracts. But when there are challenges, when there is a shortage, this can work, or it can slow things down. That is why we need long-term agreements with energy-producing countries, I would say. That is exactly what we are negotiating,” Zelenskyy explained.
The head of state also emphasized that as of today, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are 100% supplied with fuel.
“Our priority is the army; we have a clear understanding of the volume of our supplies. Our total supply of diesel and gasoline for the entire country, including the army, is about 700,000 tons per month. We have a rough idea of the volumes—somewhere around eight, or 7.2–7.4 million tons per year. Basically, we know how to ensure this,” he concluded.
Diesel Fuel in Ukraine
As a reminder, Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently partially revealed the purpose of his visit to the Middle East. He noted that Ukraine is counting on the countries of the region to provide support with diesel fuel supplies in exchange for assistance in the fight against the “Shahids.”
It should also be noted that Ukrainian gas stations have again seen an increase in fuel prices. The price hike affected diesel and gas, with the price of diesel fuel exceeding 90 hryvnias.
