Sweden has announced a new aid package of 1.4 billion Swedish kronor (approximately 120 million euros) to support Ukraine, particularly during the winter season. This news was reported by SVT and represents Sweden’s largest bilateral assistance to Ukraine to date.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and the Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade, Johan Forssell, presented the new support package on 11 December.
A major portion of this fund, 900 million Swedish kronor, will be directed to the World Bank’s Ukraine Relief, Recovery, Reconstruction and Reform Trust Fund (URTF). This fund supports the Ukrainian infrastructure in critical areas such as energy, housing construction, healthcare, and transport.
The funds, drawn from Sweden’s aid budget, will also be used to purchase heating equipment and enhance the capacity of the Ukrainian power grid. Additionally, the package includes measures to help Ukrainians survive the winter, such as building shelters.
Forssell highlighted that these measures were specifically requested by Ukraine. He accused Russia of conducting a form of “energy terrorism” against Ukraine, intentionally targeting civilian infrastructure to exacerbate the challenges faced by the civilian population.
“By attacking civilian infrastructure, Russia makes the already severe trial for the civilian population even harder. With this package, we want to help Ukraine both to build new and to restore what has been destroyed,” Forssell stated.
Meanwhile, Kristersson warned of consequences if EU countries fail to agree on an expanded long-term budget at the summit in Brussels this week.
On 6 October, Sweden’s Defence Minister Pål Jonsson announced a new military aid package worth 2.2 billion crowns ($199 mn) for Ukraine, consisting mainly of artillery ammunition.
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