The European Union will activate a special emergency assistance mechanism to quickly channel funds to Ukraine for urgent needs following Russian strikes on critical infrastructure. This agreement was reached by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Zelenskyy announced this on November 9 after a phone call with the head of the European Commission.
According to the president, Russian attacks have caused a difficult situation with electricity, water, and heat supplies in many Ukrainian cities and communities. The biggest problems are currently in Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, and Donetsk regions, as well as in Kherson.
“We agreed that the European Union will activate a special emergency assistance mechanism. This will enable prompt provision of funds to Ukraine for what is most needed right now”, — Zelenskyy stated.
He added that Ukrainian and European teams are already working on implementing the agreement.
However, the president did not specify the amount of future funding, the specific list of projects to receive funds, or the timeline for their arrival. The name and detailed conditions of the special mechanism have not yet been disclosed.
Separately, Zelenskyy and von der Leyen discussed additional energy and humanitarian assistance to prepare Ukraine for winter. The parties considered ways to strengthen support for Ukrainian cities and communities most affected by infrastructure attacks.
During the conversation, the issue of Ukraine's European integration was also raised. Zelenskyy reminded that last week the European Commission published its annual enlargement report, which positively assessed Ukraine's progress. The president stressed the importance of opening all negotiation clusters and moving toward closing individual chapters of the accession talks.
In addition, the parties coordinated positions ahead of trilateral talks between Ukraine, the United States, and Russia in Abu Dhabi. Zelenskyy said that Ukrainian and European representatives have already held consultations in Brussels on Ukraine's recovery plan and future security guarantees.
As a reminder, on November 5, the European Commission announced the transfer of €4.36 billion to Ukraine under the Ukraine Support Loan credit program. This tranche is intended to support the state budget and defense needs. The agreement on a special emergency assistance mechanism is a separate announcement, with its financial parameters yet to be clarified.
Based on materials from: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, European Commission
