The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has promised Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski the processing of emergency aid in the face of the energy blackout caused by «barbaric» Russian attacks on Ukraine’s critical infrastructure, for which she has blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin.
«I expressed to Zelenski the EU’s full solidarity with Ukraine at a time of suffering from Putin’s deliberate and barbaric shelling of the country’s civilian infrastructure. I strongly condemn these attacks. Russia must be held accountable for what constitute war crimes,» said the President of the European Executive in a statement after the phone call with Zelenski.
In this regard, Von der Leyen announced the imminent donation of 200 medium transformers and one large autotransformer by Lithuania, one medium autotransformer by Latvia and 40 generators from the common European reserve, which are located in Romania.
«We are intensifying our efforts and working with partners to provide emergency support that Ukraine needs to restore and conserve power and heating for the civilian population,» the head of the European executive said.
The European Commission is working with energy companies in several member states to provide technical equipment, such as more autotransformers, and is coordinating with several partners to quickly transport them to Ukraine.
It is also considering the creation of a logistics center in Poland to concentrate donations from third countries and deliver aid to Ukraine in coordination with G7 partners such as the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.
