Ukraine Prez Zelenskyy pleads for $843 mn aid from EU to boost critical infrastructure

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday, December 13, told an international donor conference in France that Ukraine needs additional aid for the reconstruction efforts of Ukraine’s critical infrastructure this winter.

Several Ukrainian regions have been in ruins due to Russia’s incessant mass missile strikes, Zelesnkyy told the conference via the video link. As many as 46 countries and 24 international organisations were in Paris to discuss further assistance for war-torn Ukraine. "Kyiv's civilians need help and more aid to rebuild the country's critical electrical infrastructure," said the Ukrainian leader, adding that an urgent import of electricity is needed from European allies for "at least until the end of the heating season." 

"This will cost about 800 million euros but the price is less than the cost of the blackout," said Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, while addressing the conference in Paris. 

Times of suffering and darkness

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen announced, "In these times of suffering and darkness, it is so important to bring light to Ukraine." She ordered a total of 800 generators to be supplied to Ukraine, including 40 large generators dedicated to the hospitals in Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, and Kherson. The European Union has been working on exploring means to ramp up the amount of electricity that can be traded between Ukraine, Moldova, and the rest of Europe, she told the conference. 

Ukraine's President detailed to the panel that Moscow has been using  "winter as a weapon of war" in Ukraine in recent weeks. The invading Russian forces have been striking critical infrastructure and leaving millions of Ukrainians without electricity, water, and central heating in harsh temperatures. European countries like France announced that it will commit an additional $80.7 million of humanitarian aid for Ukraine, a statement from President Emmanuel Macron’s office read.

Of this, an estimated $51.1 million of funding will be utilised for energy, access to water, food, health and transport infrastructure, and demining operations, as per the statement. The aid will be used to purchase 63 new high-powered electrical generators to help the Ukrainians battle the harsh winters. A total of $421.6 million was committed to Ukraine at the conference, according to the statement released later. The funds are expected to increase.