EU injects new money into Ukraine for Naftogaz

The top European development banks and Ukrainian Naftogaz energy company signed a deal Thursday that will provide hundreds of millions to ensure Ukraine's gas supply in the face of ongoing Russian attacks on its infrastructure.

The war with Russia has impacted the energy system of Ukraine, causing a rise in gas imports. Norway announced in January that it would finance Ukrainian purchases of natural gas.

The EIB, which is the lending arm of the EU, announced that an EU grant will provide Naftogaz with 127 million euro ($127 million) in additional funding on top of the 300 billion euro loan they announced last month.

Another 25 million Euro grant will be given to Ukraine to improve its drinking water and wastewater systems. A further 50 million Euros has been approved to support a social housing reconstruction loan.

Ukraine's energy industry has been in the spotlight over the past few days, following a government-led probe into a $100 million alleged corruption scheme. The probe has already led to the dismissal of two cabinet ministers.

The corruption scandal revolves around an alleged conspiracy to control the procurement at Energoatom, a nuclear agency, and other state-owned enterprises. The corruption scandal has not been linked to any other companies.

(source: Reuters)