President von der Leyen announces new EU support for Ukraine’s energy security for the winter

President von der Leyen delivered the following statement earlier today in a press conference with Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, on support for Ukraine’s energy security in the coming winter:

In one month, we will mark 1000 days since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. 1000 days of absolute cruelty from the Kremlin. Since the beginning they have been targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure to try and plunge the country in the dark. Half of all the country’s energy infrastructure has been destroyed.

As Ukraine’s friends and partners, we must do all we can to keep the lights on. And as winter is approaching, we must keep the brave people of Ukraine warm, while we also keep the economy going. The objective is to address the immediate needs of the population while we make Ukraine’s energy system more resilient in the long-term.

Overall, Ukraine needs 17 GW of power capacity for this winter. So today, I want to propose action in three areas: Repair, Connect and Stabilise.
These three objectives require significant financial support. And today I can announce that we will make an additional amount of close to 160 million euros available for this winter. This includes 60 million euros in humanitarian aid – for shelters and heaters for example. As well as around 100 million euros for repair works and renewables.

The full statement is available here. A factsheet is now also available online.

(For more information:
Eric Mamer – Tel.: +32 2 299 40 73;
Tim McPhie – Tel.: +32 2 295 86 02)