EU has resources to help Ukraine through winter — European Commission

The EU has the resources to help Ukraine get through the winter. Photo: Getty Images

The European Commission has assured that the European Union has sufficient resources and capacities to continue supporting Ukraine in the energy sector ahead of winter.

This was stated by the European Commission spokesperson Anna-Kaisa Itkonen during a briefing in Brussels, NikVesti reports citing Ukrinform.

Commenting on Russia's latest massive strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure on the night of 10 October, the spokesperson said that the EU strongly condemns the actions of the aggressor country.

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«Unfortunately, this is nothing new, as it has been happening since the beginning of the war. "Russia is surgically and strategically destroying, attacking and targeting Ukraine's energy infrastructure, and this is absolutely shameful,» said Itkonen.

She noted that the EU is in constant contact with the Ukrainian authorities and G7 partners.

«We will continue to support Ukraine both in rebuilding infrastructure and in providing winter assistance, as we did last year,» the official said.

According to Itkonen, the European Union is ready to help not only Ukraine but also Moldova.

«We have additional capacity for both Ukraine and Moldova, and we will continue to help. Intensive discussions are underway, and Ukraine can count on our support in the future as it gets colder outside,» said Itkonen.

She also underlined that Russian shelling is damaging not only energy facilities, but also critical services such as hospitals and schools.

The European Commission's chief spokesperson, Paula Pinho, added that the EU «has been doing everything possible to help Ukrainians rebuild their energy infrastructure since the beginning of the war».

Energy situation in Ukraine

Earlier, Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko said that Russia's massive attack on the night of 10 October was one of the largest concentrated strikes on Ukraine's energy facilities. The shelling caused significant damage to energy infrastructure in several regions of the country.

Earlier, Bloomberg reported that Russian strikes had destroyed 60% of Ukraine's gas production before the winter. If the shelling continues, Ukraine may be forced to import about 4.4 billion cubic metres of gas by the end of March 2026.

Ukraine's Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk has already said that due to the shelling of energy infrastructure, Ukraine will increase gas imports by 30%. At the same time, the government extended the fixed gas price for Ukrainians for another year.