Energy package for Ukraine
The federal government is paying Kiev almost 90 million euros
December 21, 2023, 12:33 p.m
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The massive Russian shelling has destroyed large parts of the Ukrainian infrastructure – with far-reaching consequences for the country. The federal government is now spending a lot of money so that Kiev can maintain its energy supply.
The federal government wants to pay 88.5 million euros into the European Energy Community’s energy support fund for Ukraine. The Federal Ministry of Economics is contributing 54.3 million euros through the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), and the Federal Foreign Office is contributing 34.2 million euros, the Foreign Office said. The money is intended to strengthen the energy infrastructure in Ukraine in the face of increasing Russian attacks.
Ukraine uses the fund to finance “among other things, energy sources, spare parts and equipment such as transformers and generators,” the statement said. This should help “maintain Ukraine’s energy supply.” A further part of the funds should therefore be used for green energy transition projects such as photovoltaic systems on public buildings.
As the Foreign Ministry announced, Germany had already paid 129.5 million euros into the fund at the end of last year. This makes Germany by far the largest donor to the fund, which has collected around 400 million euros since February 2022.
Total package of more than 1.6 billion
According to the Foreign Office, the contributions to the energy support fund are part of this year’s federal government’s winter package for Ukraine worth over 1.6 billion euros. This includes military aid, development support and humanitarian aid.
Ukrainian government officials have been warning for months that Moscow would intensify its attacks on energy infrastructure again in the winter. Last winter, such attacks led to widespread power outages. Millions of Ukrainians had to endure without electricity or heat.
Kiev has called on its Western allies to strengthen the country’s air defenses. Ukraine has also appealed to neighboring EU countries to provide electricity for heating needs.