Slovenia expands Ukraine assistance with focus on energy reconstruction
Slovenia's financial aid to Ukraine continues as the country decided to contribute to multi-donor efforts to help rebuild energy infrastructure that has been damaged or destroyed during the Russian aggression.
This comes as Ukraine faces a major energy crisis amid subzero temperatures, CE Report quotes The Slovenia Times.
Slovenia will donate €500,000 to the Energy Support Fund for Ukraine of the Energy Community, the government decided on 6 February.
The Energy Community is an international organisation featuring EU and non-EU countries, including Ukraine, and the fund was established in 2022 to counteract the impact of Russian attacks frequently targeting critical energy infrastructure in Ukraine.
"Contributions to the Fund are used to finance the most urgent needs of Ukrainian energy companies such as equipment, spare parts and other technical items, as well as fuels and services needed to repair infrastructure and maintain energy and heat supply in Ukraine," reads the description of the fund on the organisation's official website.
Ukraine is facing the worst energy crisis since the start of the war in 2022, Slovenia's Foreign Ministry said.
"Half of Ukraine's energy infrastructure has been either destroyed or damaged, and the estimated value of urgent reconstruction investments stands at €1 billion. Further destruction of energy infrastructure could trigger a serious humanitarian, migration, economic and social crisis."
Hundreds of thousands of civilians in Ukraine are facing freezing temperatures amid power cuts. In January, the European Commission estimated that the number of those without electricity, water and heating exceeded one million.
This year, Slovenia's foreign and finance ministries will allocate at least €7.2 million in humanitarian aid for Ukraine through local and international humanitarian organisations.
By the end of 2025, Slovenia's assistance to Ukraine that counts as official development assistance totalled almost €61 million, according to preliminary data. The figure also includes the costs of providing for Ukrainian refugees during the first 12 months of the conflict.
The ministry said that in 2024, Slovenia's assistance to Ukraine began shifting toward reconstruction and development projects. The aim has also been to increase the engagement of Slovenia's companies and know-how in these efforts. The latest contribution to the energy fund further confirms Slovenia's solidarity with Ukraine, the ministry added.
Photo: dpa/STA
