Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha took part in a meeting of the G7+ Ministerial Group on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has said on Monday.

During the meeting, the minister recalled information available to Ukrainian intelligence about Russia's preparation of strikes on critical nuclear power facilities in Ukraine, and called for a strong collective response and warning to Moscow to avoid such a scenario.

"First, Ukraine continues to work on strengthening the defense of these facilities. And here we count on your help. Second, we must react decisively and quickly. Officially address Russia and warn it to stop. Thirdly, we should ensure extended expert missions at all relevant sites," Sybiha said.

He emphasized that the Russian attacks against the Ukrainian energy system were war crimes and Russia must be held accountable for them.

The minister also pointed out that ahead of winter, Ukraine urgently needs to strengthen three areas of energy assistance: protection, restoration and long-term sustainability.

"Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has clearly set the task of increasing allied assistance to the Ukrainian energy sector. These are, first of all, strengthening the air shield to protect our energy system; urgent provision of equipment and additional generation sources; financing and investment in long-term energy sustainability. I call on you to act urgently to help Ukrainians go through this winter period," the minister said.

He also informed his colleagues about the current state of the Ukrainian energy system and the loss of energy capacities as a result of systematic Russian attacks. The minister noted that Ukraine's goal is to restore the energy system in the short and long term, as well as to strengthen energy security and sustainability.

According to Sybiha, the development of distributed generation is an important factor in Ukraine's energy sustainability, so allies should focus on providing new generating capacity.

He emphasized that the best solution to prevent new damage to the Ukrainian energy system is to strengthen Ukraine's air shield.

"We are grateful for all the support, but we urgently need more air defense systems, anti-aircraft artillery, anti-drone systems and, just as importantly, more air defense missiles. We also need more MANPADS, which have proven their effectiveness in shooting down Russian drones," the minister said.