WASHINGTON, DC – Energy ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) countries on Friday condemned Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and pledged stronger support for Kyiv as winter approaches.
In a joint statement after a two-day meeting in Toronto, the ministers said strikes on Ukraine’s natural gas system were creating “risks to communities and human lives, weakening civilian infrastructure, and undermining the energy security of the Ukrainian people.”
The warning came as Moscow intensified its aerial assaults on Ukrainian power facilities, which officials in Kyiv have described as “systematic energy terror.”
The attacks have repeatedly disrupted power supplies and threatened the external electricity lines feeding Ukraine’s nuclear power plants.
G7 vows continued support
Ministers from the US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Britain reaffirmed their “unwavering support for Ukraine in defending its territorial integrity and right to exist.”
They condemned Russia’s actions for causing “devastating social, environmental, and economic consequences for the Ukrainian people,” and said they would help strengthen Ukraine’s energy resilience by supporting protection and repairs of critical energy sites, diversifying and securing supply chains, and backing the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA in efforts to ensure nuclear safety and security.
The G7 also called for private investment to rebuild what it described as a “reliable, resilient, efficient, affordable, and more decentralized energy system” for Ukraine.
Kyiv accuses Moscow of ‘nuclear terrorism’
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry on Friday night issued a statement accusing Russia of “nuclear terrorism” after missile strikes on substations supplying power to nuclear facilities.
“These deliberate strikes on civilian energy facilities that directly affect the safe operation of nuclear installations bear the hallmarks of nuclear terrorism and constitute a grave violation of international humanitarian law,” the Ministry said in a social media post.
It added that IAEA experts regularly inspect the affected facilities and that the attacks breach a Board of Governors resolution prohibiting strikes on external power infrastructure.
The ministry said Russian state-owned energy firm Rosatom could have been involved in planning the attacks, citing the technical knowledge needed to identify such targets. It urged partners to tighten sanctions, including expanded restrictions on Rosatom.
Experts warn of nuclear safety risks
Humanitarian and energy experts say the strikes pose a growing threat to global nuclear safety.
Yuriy Boyechko, CEO of the US-based nonprofit Hope for Ukraine, told Kyiv Post Friday night that Russia’s actions amount to “a deliberate and catastrophic strategy that weaponizes the risk of nuclear disaster.”
Nuclear facilities, even when idle, depend on a stable external power source to cool reactors and maintain safety systems, he said. Disrupting those connections risks a loss of off-site power that could lead to overheating and potential radioactive release.
“This strategy elevates the conflict from a regional war to a global nuclear safety crisis,” Boyechko said.
He urged international partners to treat such attacks as assaults on global security norms and to deploy air defense systems to protect switchyards and transmission lines near nuclear sites.