European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is to visit Kiev on Friday, she announced in Brussels on Thursday.
The commission president wants to discuss help for Ukraine’s energy supply ahead of the winter season with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, she said.
“As temperatures are dropping down, the European Union is ready to step up its support to Ukraine. We are preparing for the winter together,” von der Leyen told journalists.
The EU is to provide an additional €160 million ($178 million) to Ukraine to help repair the damaged energy infrastructure, expand renewable energy, and finance shelters, von der Leyen said.
Ukraine’s energy infrastructure was under great pressure due to increasing Russian attacks on power plants, heating plants and transmission grids, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Thursday.
“Strains that are bearable in the summer months may become unbearable when temperatures start to fall and supplies of heat and water falter, triggering further displacement of affected populations across the country and abroad,” the energy agency said.
“Ukraine’s international partners have been providing much-needed
equipment and aid throughout the war, but today’s acute situation demands further support,” the agency’s report said.
The situation could worsen as the days get shorter and colder, it said, with power supply to hospital, schools and other important facilities as well as the heat supply to major cities at risk.
The IEA called on Ukraine’s partners to support the country to protect the electricity and heating supply, saying, “Ukraine’s energy system made it through two successive winters since Russia’s invasion, but the third promises to be the sternest of tests.”
