Kyiv, Ukraine (AP) — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrived in Ukraine on Friday to help the country restore and reconnect its electricity grids. war damaged electricity grid and increase the heating capacity as winter approaches.
About half of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure has been destroyed in the war with Russia, and the blackout left parts of the east in darkness for four hours. Von der Leyden said it felt like all of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia were without power.
Meanwhile, winter is coming.
“The heating season starts in two weeks and Russia’s relentless attacks on Ukraine’s civilian energy infrastructure are aimed at causing maximum damage,” von der Leyen said as she arrived in Kiev for talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “We will support Ukraine in its valiant efforts to overcome this.”
The main goal is to help Ukraine decentralize its electricity grid and become less dependent on large power plants that are easier targets for Russian forces. About 260 missiles were fired in a major attack on energy infrastructure late last month.
The Europeans have already sent more than 10,000 generators and transformers, and they are also delivering small and more mobile gas turbines. This type of electricity-generating equipment is harder to hit and easier to repair.
Ukraine’s winter runs from late October through March, with January and February being the harshest months. The Europeans hope to help supply about 25 percent of the 17 gigawatts of power the country is likely to need this winter.
One aim of EU aid is to give people an incentive to stay in Ukraine. Since the war began in February 2022, some 4 million people have fled, often to Poland and other neighbouring countries.
The EU is provide assistancesuch as short-term help to find accommodation, work or training. But recently the number of people leaving has increased. The Commission, the EU’s powerful executive, estimates that 10,000 more people are asking for help every week.
Thursday is the Commission announced that it would generate an additional 160 million euros ($180 million) to strengthen Ukraine’s energy network. Of that, 100 million euros ($112 million) comes from windfalls the EU has earned from interest on frozen Russian assets.
Von der Leyen said the plan is to “make Russia pay for this through the revenue generated by their frozen assets.” Denmark is also leading the way in using the money to place orders for weapons and military equipment directly with Ukraine’s defense industry.
She and Zelenskyy will also discuss the use of loans from G7 powers to bolster Ukraine’s conflict-ridden economy and assess progress in Kiev’s bid to join the EU.