Energy Aspect of Ukrainian-Russian Conflict of the End of XX and the XXI Centuries

Abstract

The article deals with bilateral Russia and Ukraine power relations, urgent questions of their cooperation and form of realization of large Russia foreign economic projects. The separation of bilateral Ukrainian-Russian relations in the energy sector is quite conditional, the authors have studied. Because they are objectively inscribed in the relations of both countries with a third party – first of all, European countries as consumers of energy resources transported through the territory of Ukraine. Thus, both from the point of view of the technological chain (producer-transit-consumer) and from the economic point of view (seller-provider of transportation services-buyer), these relations should be considered in a tripartite format. It tries to determine possible threats of Ukraine’s national security in the context of Russia foreign power strategy realization. Ukrainian-Russian relations in the energy sector are quite dynamic, but cannot be assessed unambiguously due to the presence of a combination of positive and negative factors and trends. They largely depend on the general state of relations between the two capitals, and sometimes have a decisive influence on them. It has been investigated that the weaknesses of the Ukrainian energy sector since independence in 1991 shed light on the fundamental link between energy security and national security. From the point of view of global energy processes, one should take into account the favorable geopolitical and geographical position of Ukraine and its related role as a transit state. The integration of the Ukrainian energy system into the European one is a component of Ukraine’s strategic goal of joining the EU. Ukraine has a sufficiently strong and developed gas, oil and electricity networks, connected to the transport networks of the EU and CIS countries: Russia, Moldova, Belarus, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, which allows it to participate in the formation of European energy policy and common energy market, play an important role in energy cooperation between the CIS and the EU.