The EU has a plan to lend $39 billion to Ukraine

VOA Asia

Von der Leyen made the announcement during a joint news briefing in Kyiv with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The $39 billion loan is part of a $50 billion loan package using frozen Russian assets, which was agreed upon by the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations during a meeting in June.
The EU has frozen about $235 billion in Russian assets.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s most immediate use for the EU funds will be to shore up its heavily damaged energy grid ahead of the winter.
The funding was prompted by a new report showing nearly two-thirds of the nation’s energy grid had been destroyed by Russian attacks.

NEGATIVE

EU plans to lend Ukraine $39 billion to help rebuild its energy grid and economy, both severely damaged by Russia’s invasion, according to European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen’s statement on Friday.

At a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, Von der Leyen made the announcement. Following a meeting in June, the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations decided to use frozen Russian assets as part of a $50 billion loan package, of which the $39 billion loan is a part.

Russian assets worth roughly $235 billion have been blocked by the EU. The $39 billion loan has been approved by the European Commission, the executive branch of the EU, but a majority of EU member states still need to ratify it.

According to Zelenskyy, Ukraine will bolster its severely damaged energy grid in preparation for winter as the country’s primary use for the EU funds.

Following her announcement on Thursday in Brussels of a plan by the European Union to give Ukraine approximately $180 million in energy funding, of which approximately $111 million will come from the frozen Russian assets, von der Leyen paid a visit to France on Friday.

A recent report demonstrating that Russian attacks had destroyed nearly two thirds of the country’s energy grid served as the impetus for the funding. Zelenskyy declared on Friday that money is desperately needed since Russia has not even temporarily ceased “its terrorist attacks on our power plants and other critical social infrastructure.”. “.

Zelenskyy added that he still intended to present the U.S. with his winning strategy. S. When they cross paths on the sidelines of the U.S. N. General Assembly is scheduled for next week in New York. He expressed his hope that Biden will back the proposal, noting that it was intended for prompt action from Ukraine’s allies.

According to the Ukrainian president, Biden and “the good will and support of the United States” are the main decision-makers in the plan. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will meet separately with Zelenskyy on September 26, according to a White House announcement on Thursday.

Russian assaults on Sumy.

According to Ukrainian officials, Russian forces targeted the energy sector of the city of Sumy, Ukraine, on Thursday and attacked an elderly care center there, killing at least one civilian.

A five-story building was struck by a Russian guided bomb during the daytime attack on Sumy, according to officials. The Ukrainian interior ministry said in a statement that at least one person had died and at least twelve others had been injured. Images taken at the scene showed the building’s elderly patients being evacuated.

Rescue workers, according to Zelenskyy, were looking to see if anyone was trapped beneath the debris.

According to a monitoring group of the UN, Russia’s assaults on Ukraine’s electricity grid most likely breach humanitarian law. The most recent disruption to the power grid occurred on the same day that the European Union revealed its loan.

Russia has throttled the Sumy region’s energy system in several attacks this week, reducing power in some areas. Ukraine’s electricity supply faces “severe disruptions” this winter, the International Energy Agency warned on Thursday.

In the city of Washington, U. s. According to Reuters on Thursday, congressional leaders and the Biden administration are getting closer to reaching an agreement to pursue a one-year extension of $6 billion in military aid for Ukraine. This month marks the expiration of the aid.

Reuters, Agence France-Presse, and the Associated Press all contributed information to this story.

scroll to top