Ukraine and Romania signed agreements on electricity interconnectors, defence production and strategic partnership during President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to Bucharest, European Pravda reports.
Zelenskyy announced the interconnector deal after meeting Romanian President Nicușor Dan. "We are working on expanding cross-border energy cooperation — we are building two new lines with Romania for electricity supply," he wrote on Telegram. "It is also important that we can jointly implement projects in the field of extraction on the Black Sea shelf."
The two leaders signed a declaration establishing a strategic partnership between Ukraine and Romania, framework agreements on energy sector cooperation, and a joint statement on co-production of defence goods, according to their joint press conference.
On the interconnectors, Zelenskyy distinguished between two separate projects: a smaller line expected to come online before the end of this year, and a larger one due within two years.
The talks also covered oil and gas projects "that can support us now, including given the challenges from the Middle East," as well as the possibility of transporting American LNG to Ukraine via Romania. Zelenskyy added that new border crossing points are also in the works: "We are also working to open new crossing points on the border, and this will happen this summer."
The energy agreements come against the backdrop of strained Ukrainian power generation. Ukraine imported 213,200 MWh of electricity in the week of 2-8 March, down 30% from the previous week, according to available data. The government aims to restore 4 GW of generating capacity and build an additional 1.5 GW, and hopes to attract €5 billion from partners for that effort this year.
Romania is also developing its own energy infrastructure: the country plans to establish a modern Black Sea threat-detection system by 2027, designed to protect strategic energy and trade infrastructure including the future offshore Neptun Deep gas project.
On defence, more than 70% of Romanians consider it necessary to increase defence spending, though a majority believe the country is not prepared for war, according to recent polling cited in the report.
