The head of the European Commission promises support during his visit to kyiv and funds will be used to boost Ukraine's economy.
The European Union has pledged to lend Ukraine up to 35 billion euros ($39 billion) as part of a Group of Seven (G7) plan to raise $50 billion through proceeds from frozen Russian state assets.
The loan, announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in kyiv on Friday, will help Ukraine repair its war-damaged energy grid and boost its heating capacity as winter approaches.
“You will decide how to best use your funds,” von der Leyen told President Volodymr Zelenskyy, who said her priorities were rebuilding the energy grid, building more bomb shelters, improving schools and buying more weapons.
In June, leaders of the G7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States) agreed to finance a $50 billion loan for Ukraine backed by future proceeds from frozen Russian assets. The EU is also involved in all G7 discussions.
“The incessant Russian attacks mean that Ukraine needs the EU’s continued support,” von der Leyen wrote in X when announcing the loan, calling it “another important EU contribution to Ukraine’s recovery.”
She previously said Europe would lend Ukraine support on a range of issues, including winter preparation and defence during her eighth visit to kyiv.
About half of Ukraine's energy infrastructure has been destroyed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, and rolling power blackouts leave parts of the east in darkness for four hours at a time.
Winter in Ukraine runs from late October to March, with January and February being the harshest months. Europe hopes to contribute to supplying around 25 percent of the 17 gigawatts (GW) of energy the country is likely to need this winter.
Russia has destroyed around 9 GW of Ukraine's energy infrastructure, which von der Leyen says is equivalent to Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia losing electricity.
One of the aims of EU assistance is to provide an incentive for people to stay in Ukraine.
Around four million people have fled since the war began in February 2022, often to Poland and other neighbouring countries.
Von der Leyen's visit to the country comes after a summer of intense fighting with Moscow's troops advancing in the east and kyiv holding swathes of Russia's Kursk region.
As Ukraine tries to increase military supplies to maintain momentum, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced Thursday that his country would send a new Samp-T anti-missile system “to protect hospitals, schools and universities,” while stressing that “defending Ukraine does not mean provoking a world war.”
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday the West should stop supplying arms to Ukraine and sponsoring “terrorist activity” if it wanted to show it was serious about seeking an end to the war.
Zelensky reiterated this week that Ukraine had completed preparation of a “victory plan” that he intends to discuss with President Joe Biden during his upcoming visits to the United States.
