The European Investment Bank (EIB) has provided €50 million in urgent winter financing to Ukraine’s state-owned energy company, Naftogaz, to strengthen the country’s energy resilience amid ongoing attacks on critical infrastructure. This funding aims to support the import of natural gas, ensuring households, essential services, and businesses maintain electricity and heating during severe winter conditions.
This operation builds on previous EIB support, including a €300 million loan to Naftogaz, as well as a €127 million EU grant for gas procurement facilitated through Norway’s contribution to the Ukraine Investment Framework. The financing is part of a coordinated EU response to Ukraine’s urgent energy needs and forms a core element of the EIB’s Ukraine Energy Rescue Plan.
Naftogaz has committed to reinvesting an amount equivalent to the EIB funding into renewable energy and decarbonisation initiatives. This ensures that immediate energy security measures are aligned with long-term objectives for a green transition. The loan, backed by the European Commission under the EU’s Ukraine Investment Framework, includes safeguards against the import of Russian gas and requires the maintenance of transparency and good governance.
EIB Vice-President Teresa Czerwińska highlighted the critical timing of the support, noting that winter temperatures in Ukraine have dropped to minus 20 degrees and below, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without essential services. European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos and Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide also emphasized the urgency and international collaboration behind the funding to maintain Ukraine’s energy system during extreme winter conditions.
Sergii Koretskyi, CEO of Naftogaz, expressed gratitude for the rapid support, underlining its importance for stabilizing the energy system amid harsh winter conditions and ongoing attacks. The EIB has been present in Ukraine since 2007 and, following Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, has stepped up its financial support, providing a total of €4 billion through initiatives such as EU4U and the Ukraine Facility, in close cooperation with EU institutions and international partners.
