Denys Shmyhal and Valdis Dombrovskis discuss energy sanctions and financial support

Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal had a telephone conversation with Executive Vice-President of the European Commission Valdis Dombrovskis.

The parties discussed energy sanctions and Ukraine’s receipt of USD 50 billion from the use of frozen russian assets.

Denys Shmyhal said that the sanctions imposed by Ukraine did not violate the Association Agreement with the EU, while the reaction of the Slovak and Hungarian sides was highly politicised and manipulative. “Ukraine is always open to constructive cooperation with EU member states, including Hungary and Slovakia. We are convinced that the real threat to these countries comes from russia, which is trying to avoid fair sanctions through energy blackmail. And we are grateful to the European Commission for its policy of limiting russian energy resources and supporting EU countries that are actively diversifying their energy flows,” the Prime Minister said.

The parties also discussed the decision of the G7 summit to provide Ukraine with USD 50 billion from confiscated russian assets. Denys Shmyhal noted that this important decision would help Ukraine get through the next year. He thanked the EU and Valdis Dombrovskis personally for the leadership in this matter.

“We expect that by the end of this year these funds will be available to Ukraine,” the Prime Minister added.

The Prime Minister also thanked the European Commission for the EUR 8 billion already received under the Ukraine Facility programme. Overall, this year Ukraine expects to receive EUR 16 billion under the programme and a similar amount next year. According to the Prime Minister, this assistance is crucial to ensure Ukraine’s resilience and stability in the face of a full-scale war.