German Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock announced during a visit to Moldova on Tuesday, September 17, 2024, that her country will provide an additional 100 million euros ($111 million) in aid for Ukraine this winter.
Baerbock was visiting Chisinau for the Moldova Partnership Platform, together with allies from France and Romania.
Germany, one of Kyiv’s main military supporters in Europe, initiated the platform after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, painting it as part of broader efforts to stabilise Moldova’s economy and shield it from Russian disinformation
“Clearly, autumn is coming, winter is knocking at the door,” Baerbock said.
She added that Russia is once again planning a “winter war with the aim of making the lives of people in Ukraine as terrible as possible.”
In the past, Russia has stepped up attacks against energy infrastructure in Ukraine ahead of plunging temperatures.
Ukraine’s energy system is still recovering from nine large-scale Russian attacks and faces a capacity shortfall. Emergency and scheduled repairs at energy facilities remain ongoing.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal previously stated, that barring further attacks on energy infrastructure, Ukraine could manage the winter without widespread blackouts. However, intelligence suggests that Russia is preparing another series of massive strikes on Ukraine’s energy grid.
On September 10, Shmyhal told reporters that this winter is likely to be as challenging as the previous ones—if not the hardest yet. He added that predicting how long Ukrainians may be without electricity or whether there will be outages at all is difficult.
Speaking at a conference to address concerns about broadening Russian interference in the region, Baerbock said that support for Ukraine guarantees the survival of neighbouring Moldova.
“Everything that we do to support Ukraine also means fostering stabilisation with regards to Moldova.
“It is clear what the greatest concern of the people here is: that if Ukraine falls, Moldova is the next country in line.”
Moldovan President Maia Sandu said the country still faces serious challenges and urged partners to increase their support.
“Russia’s war against Ukraine, which we condemned from the very first day, has caused enormous damage to our economy,” Sandu said.
“The uncertainty caused by the war continues to seriously hinder our economic development and will continue to hinder it as long as the war lasts,” she added.
Russia Attacks Energy Infrastructure In Ukraine’s Sumy Region
Meanwhile, Russian forces attacked energy infrastructure in the northeastern Sumy region, cutting power in some districts and forcing the use of backup power systems.
Regional officials said that the attack has damaged the Konotop, Okhtyrka and Sumy districts of the region.
Sumy water supply facilities said that the attack cut power to them at night, prompting the switch to emergency power supply.
Artem Kobzar, Sumy’s acting Mayor, stated on Telegram that there were no casualties in the city of Sumy and that energy workers were dealing with the attack’s aftermath.
The Ukrainian Air Force noted that it shot down 34 out of 51 Russian drones overnight in five Ukrainian regions.
Regional authorities also said tthat he air defences shot down 16 of those drones over the Sumy region.
Sumy borders the Russian region of Kursk, into which Ukrainian troops advanced at the beginning of August.
The Russian Defence Ministry claimed that its forces have attacked the Ukrainian energy infrastructure that supports “the activities of enterprises of the military-industrial complex of Ukraine.”
The ministry added that they include “storage sites for weapons, ammunition and material and technical resources, as well as concentrations of enemy manpower and military equipment in 145 districts.”
“Sixteen Ukrainian drones destroyed by Russian air defence systems over the border regions of Bryansk and Kursk overnight,” it said.
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