EU to use emergency aid mechanism for Ukraine, Zelensky says

The European Union will use a special emergency assistance mechanism to provide funding for Ukraine’s most urgent needs, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, according to RBC-Ukraine on November 9. He said he reached the agreement during a conversation with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and that their teams were already working on the assistance.

Zelensky said Russian strikes had left many Ukrainian cities and communities facing severe difficulties with electricity, water and heating. He identified Kyiv, the Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy and Donetsk regions, and the city of Kherson as the hardest-hit areas.

The leaders also discussed additional energy and humanitarian assistance ahead of winter. RBC-Ukraine’s report did not specify the amount of funding, a transfer date, how the money would be allocated or the mechanism’s official name. Zelensky described an agreement on forthcoming assistance; the report did not say funds had already been transferred.