German government pays Kiev almost 90 million euros
Massive Russian shelling has destroyed large parts of Ukraine's infrastructure - with far-reaching consequences for the country. The German government is now providing a lot of money to help Kiev maintain its energy supply.
The German government wants to pay 88.5 million euros into the European Energy Community's Energy Support Fund for Ukraine. The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy is contributing 54.3 million euros via the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) and the Federal Foreign Office is contributing 34.2 million euros, the Federal Foreign Office explained. The money is to be used to strengthen the energy infrastructure in Ukraine in the face of increasing Russian attacks.
Ukraine will use the fund to finance "energy sources, spare parts and equipment such as transformers and generators, among other things", according to the statement. This should help to "maintain Ukraine's energy supply". Another part of the funds will be used for green energy transition projects such as photovoltaic systems on public buildings.
According to the Foreign Ministry, Germany had already paid 129.5 million euros into the fund at the end of last year. This makes Germany by far the largest contributor to the fund, which has collected around 400 million euros since February 2022.
Total package of more than 1.6 billion
According to the Federal Foreign Office, the contributions to the Energy Support Fund are part of the German government's winter package of over 1.6 billion euros for Ukraine this year. This includes military aid, development policy support and humanitarian aid.
Ukrainian government representatives have been warning for months that Moscow would intensify its attacks on the energy infrastructure again this winter. Last winter, such attacks led to widespread power cuts. Millions of Ukrainians were left without electricity and heat.
Kiev has called on its Western allies to strengthen the country's air defenses. Ukraine has also appealed to its EU neighbors to provide electricity for heating needs.
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Source: www.ntv.de
