EU chief announces €35bn energy loan for Ukraine as war with Russia drags on

RFI

20 September 2024 at 8:28 am·2-min read

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Friday announced plans for Brussels to lend Ukraine €35 billion backed by revenues of frozen Russian assets and promised to help Ukraine "keep warm" ahead of a third winter of war.The talks on energy security come amid ongoing Russian airstrikes targeting the country's power grid.

Von der Leyen's visit comes after a summer of intense fighting with Moscow's troops pressing an advance in the east and Kyiv holding on to swathes of Russia's Kursk region.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned that this winter will be "by far" the toughest for Ukraine, with a large part of the country's energy infrastructure already damaged by Russia's bombing campaigns.

"The European Union is here to help you in this challenge to keep the lights on, to keep your people warm and keep your economy going as you fight for your survival," von der Leyen said.

"We are now confident that we can deliver this loan to Ukraine very quickly, a loan that is backed by the windfall profits from immobilised Russian assets," she added, speaking alongside President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Zelensky is expected visit to presidential candidates in Washington in the coming days to present Kyiv proposals on how to end more than two and a half years of fighting.

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The EU's loan proposal – which needs to be signed off by member states – is part of a bigger plan agreed by G7 powers in June to use the proceeds of frozen Russian assets to loan Kyiv $50 billion (€44 billion).

In Kyiv, von der Leyen laid flowers at a memorial to soldiers killed in the fighting.

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