European Union prepares to send €1bn in aid to Ukraine

Emergency funding needs to be approved by all member states before it can be disbursed

A building hit by a Russian missile strike in the town of Serhiivka, near Odesa, Ukraine. AFP

The European Union has proposed €1 billion ($1.04bn) of emergency funding to help war-ravaged Ukraine tackle its cash flow problems, with Norway also announcing €1bn in humanitarian aid for the next two years.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the first part of an assistance plan “will allow us to give an immediate answer to the urgent needs of Ukraine”.

“The EU will keep on providing relief to Ukraine and in the longer-term support its reconstruction as a democratic and prosperous country,” she said in a statement on Friday.

The emergency funding, which needs to be approved by all member states before it can be disbursed, comes as details of a larger package are still being worked out.

Under the proposal, funds will be made available to Ukraine in the form of long-term loans on favourable terms, the commission said. The EU budget will cover the interest costs and the loan will be backed for 70 per cent of the value by amounts set aside in the budget.

Ukraine is struggling to keep afloat financially as the Russian invasion destroys infrastructure and chokes the nation’s economy.

Ukrainian servicemen in a shelter at the frontline near Kharkiv. AP

A Ukrainian and his puppy in the Donetsk region. AP

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, third left, is shown apartment buildings damaged by Russian shelling during his visit to Irpin on the outskirts of Kyiv. AP

Rescue specialists work at the site of a destroyed residential building after blasts in Belgorod, Russia. Reuters

A woman lays flowers during a demonstration against the invasion of Ukraine in front of the Palais des Nations, in Geneva, Switzerland. EPA

A woman injured when her house was damaged by the Russian shelling sits in the yard of her house, in Bakhmut, Ukraine. AP

Local residents stand next to a damaged residential building in the town of Serhiivka, about 50 kilometres south-west of Odesa, Ukraine. AP

Viktor Shevchenko stands in a crater to show its depth after a Russian shelling in the Saltivka district in Kharkiv. AP

An image taken from a video provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office purports to show the moment a missile struck the shopping mall in Kremenchuk. AP

People watch as smoke rises after a Russian missile strike hit a crowded shopping mall, in Kremenchuk. AP

Firefighters clean the rubble of the destroyed Amstor shopping mall in Kremenchuk. EPA

A woman cries after the body of her husband, who was killed in the yard of an apartment building during shelling, was loaded into an ambulance in Kharkiv, Ukraine. AP

Firefighters and rescue workers at the destroyed Amstor shopping mall. EPA

Rescuers work at the site of a shopping mall hit by a Russian missile strike, in Kremenchuk. Reuters

A couple wounded by a Russian missile strike hold hands in a hospital, in Kremenchuk. Reuters

People wait to receive humanitarian aid in front of a residential building damaged during a Russian attack in Borodyanka, Ukraine. EPA

Ukrainian servicemen take a bus to their positions near Severodonetsk, in Luhansk area. EPA

A Ukrainian service member and a dog in the industrial area of the city of Severodonetsk. Reuters

A couple sits in front of a residential building that was damaged during a Russian attack, in Borodyanka. EPA

Local residents receive humanitarian aid in Borodyanka. EPA

A Ukrainian armed forces tank in Severodonetsk. Reuters

Ukrainian service members walk past a damaged car in Severodonetsk. Reuters

A giant Ukrainian flag is held up during the benefit concert 'Embrace Ukraine' on the Museumplein in Amsterdam. The free event will raise money for victims of the war in Ukraine and the purchase of mobile X-ray equipment that the country needs. EPA

A fire from a gas processing plant continues to burn behind a field of wheat after it was hit by shelling a few days earlier in Andriivka, in the Kharkiv region. Reuters

An onlooker takes in the damage from overnight shelling on Kharkiv's Housing and Communal College. Reuters

A destroyed tank in the village of Novoselivka, outside Chernigiv. AFP

A man decorates a toy cabin for children made from used ammunition crates in the village of Novoselivka, outside Chernigiv. AFP

An internal view of the Housing and Communal College building damaged by recent shelling in Kharkiv. EPA

Previous attempts have been scuppered, with Germany delaying the proposal, Bloomberg reported. Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government wants grants to ease Ukraine’s debt burden and disputes how to calculate and structure guarantees.

Asked about the hold-up, German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said he had already authorised €1bn for Ukraine — which should be taken into account as talks on additional help move forward.

“Germany should not be called upon twice,” Mr Lindner said. “Everyone should be called upon to the extent of his or her ability.”

The larger EU assistance package being considered would seek to make a “sizeable” contribution towards covering Ukraine’s 2022 financing gap, which is estimated to be about $10bn, a draft text of the proposal said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (R) and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store (L) shake hands in Kyiv. AFP

The Finance Ministry in Kyiv is running out of options as the war drags on, leaving the country increasingly reliant on outside help. Ukrainian officials are exploring the possibility of debt restructuring as a way to lighten the burden while remaining on good terms with international investors.

The EU funds will come on top of a previous credit line of €1.2bn given to Kyiv earlier this year. The loan programme will include a 25-year maturity, with a 10-year grace period to pay back the principal.

Meanwhile, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store visited Ukraine on Friday and announced his country's own aid package.

The fund is for “humanitarian aid, reconstruction of the country, weapons and operational support to the [Ukrainian] authorities”, the Norwegian government said in a statement.

“We stand together with the Ukrainian people,” Mr Store said. “We help support the Ukrainians' struggle for freedom. They are fighting for their country, but also for our democratic values.”