European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen revealed on Thursday that 160 million euros will be allocated to address Ukraine’s urgent humanitarian needs for the upcoming winter. The sum of 160 million euros comes from the proceeds of frozen Russian assets, Reuters reports.
It was previously announced that 90% of the proceeds from frozen Russian assets will be allocated for Ukraine’s defense, while 10% will be allocated to humanitarian needs. Ukraine, in turn, has repeatedly requested that all Russian assets in the West, not only proceeds, be transferred to bring Russia to justice.
The announcement comes as Ukraine faces severe challenges to its energy infrastructure. According to von der Leyen, Russia has knocked out approximately 9 gigawatts (GW) of Ukraine’s power capacity, equivalent to “the power of the three Baltic states.” The International Energy Agency warns that Ukraine could face a 6 GW shortfall this winter as peak electricity demand increases.
To address this crisis, the EU is taking several steps:
- Allocating 160 million euros for urgent humanitarian needs
- Assisting with repairs to restore 2.5 GW of capacity (15% of Ukraine’s needs)
- Increasing electricity exports to supply an additional 2 GW to Ukraine
- Relocating a fuel power plant from Lithuania to Ukraine
These measures aim to mitigate the impact of widespread destruction, with 80% of Ukraine’s thermal plants and a third of its hydropower facilities currently out of commission due to Russian air strikes.
This latest announcement is part of a larger initiative to utilize frozen Russian assets for Ukraine’s benefit. In a previous statement at the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2024, von der Leyen outlined plans to transfer 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion) to Ukraine as early as July. 90% of this larger sum was planned to be allocated towards defense and 10% towards reconstruction efforts.
Discussions on the use of the estimated $300 billion in frozen Russian central bank assets held worldwide are ongoing. However, so far, Ukraine’s partners, and, in particular, G7, have failed to meet Ukraine’s request to transfer frozen Russian assets for the needs of Ukraine’s defense as part of a greater effort to bring Russia to justice.
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