Austria to allocate nearly $5.4 million for Ukraine's energy infrastructure restoration
The Austrian government will allocate 5 million euros (around $5.4 million) for energy infrastructure restoration in Ukraine, Der Standard reported on May 20, citing an Austrian official.
Moscow has recently intensified its missile and drone strikes against Ukraine's critical infrastructure, destroying several thermal power plants across the country. This included the Trypillia plant, the main electricity supplier to Kyiv, Zhytomyr, and Cherkasy oblasts.
Russia carried out a large-scale attack on May 8 against Poltava, Kirovohrad, Zaporizhzhia, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kyiv, and Vinnytsia oblasts, mainly targeting energy infrastructure. At least two hydroelectric power plants had to be decommissioned as a result of the attack.
Financing will be provided from the Climate Action and Energy Ministry's budget and distributed to Ukraine within the Energy Community, an international organization that aims to extend the EU internal energy market, The Kyiv Independent reports.
The allocated funds will be spent on urgently needed spare parts, generators, and repair lines, according to Der Standard.
"As a neutral country, Austria also must stand on the side of humanity in this war," Austrian Climate Action and Energy Minister Leonore Gewessler said.
Gewessler hopes that additional funds will "at least facilitate the reconstruction somehow."
The Ukrainian ambassador to Austria, Vasyl Khymynets, thanked the minister for a "strong signal of solidarity."
"This financial assistance from the federal government is critical to restore energy infrastructure and supply Ukrainian people with electricity amid Russian efforts to destroy the energy infrastructure with air strikes and artillery shelling," Khymynets said.
Ukraine's power generation capacity has decreased by up to 8 gigawatt hours (GWh) and needs nearly $1 billion to compensate, according to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.
Shmyhal previously said Ukraine has allocated over Hr 7.1 billion ($179.4 million) to restore its power grid after the recent Russian strikes.
