Now in its third year of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, Ukraine is once again facing a harsh winter. Night after night, Putin and his troops are launching drone and missile attacks across Ukraine in order to break the Ukrainian people and put pressure on the government, among other goals.
To counteract this, Germany continues to supply not only state-of-the-art equipment to support the Ukrainian army, particularly in the area of air defence, but is also providing additional funds this winter to repair and improve Ukraine’s energy, water and heating infrastructure.
In addition to the support measures already announced and contracted, the German government pledged further assistance totalling €170 million this month alone.
According to official information, the funds are expected to have a positive impact on the lives of more than one million Ukrainians in the coming weeks and months.
The funds are being provided by both the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (€70 million) and the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (€100 million).
€70 million for municipalities, schools and hospitals
A total of €70 million were pledged by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development a few days ago on the 18th of December.
€50 million will be allocated to the GIZ GmbH, which has been actively involved in Ukraine for a long time in cooperation with the German government. The funds will be used to procure and install the necessary equipment for decentralised electricity and heat supply in the communities.
In concrete terms, this refers to the procurement of hybrid generators, modular boiler systems, container-based pellet heating systems and combined heat and power plants, PV battery systems and the necessary accessories for installing these goods.
The plan is to award a total of 65% of these contracts to German companies, which will not only strengthen them but also boost German-Ukrainian cooperation.
GIZ also has the task of advising public service providers on the subject of energy efficiency. The aim is to enable service providers in Ukraine to use less heat and electricity more efficiently, thereby reducing the impact of targeted Russian attacks.
A further €20 million will be made available to UNICEF via the state-owned development bank KfW. This is a comparatively small amount with an enormous impact. According to UNICEF estimates, a total of around one million people will benefit from the measures financed by these funds.
This includes around 400,000 children, whose education during the winter will be ensured by providing nearly 1,300 schools and kindergartens with electricity and heating.
In addition, a total of ten hospitals are to be supported with battery solar systems and other decentralised energy solutions so that they can provide medical care to patients when the central power supply fails.
The procurement of battery-powered supply systems for water and wastewater pumping stations will also provide 100,000 people with a reliable water supply.
According to information from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the focus remains on the long-term stabilisation of the Ukrainian power grid via the state-owned power grid operator Ukrenergo. The latter is to receive additional spare parts and support during the construction of physical barriers around substations.
€100 million for Ukrainian energy companies
Ukrenergo and other companies are also receiving support from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. On the 4th of December, the ministry pledged an additional €100 million, which will be channelled to the Ukraine Energy Support Fund via the state-owned development bank KfW.
The fund is managed by the Energy Community, based in Vienna, Austria. This is an international organisation whose members include Ukraine and the European Union. The Energy Community acts as trustee of the fund and as an intermediary between the donors and the Ukrainian authorities.
Ukraine uses this essential energy support fund to finance necessary spare parts and equipment for its energy companies in order to repair destroyed energy infrastructure.
By the 19th of December 2025, approximately €1.65 billion had been pledged by all 22 donor countries, the EU and private donors.
Together with the funds newly pledged at the beginning of December, a considerable 33.8% (approximately €557.13 million) of this sum is attributable to Germany, making the German government by far the largest contributor to the fund.
Overall, these figures highlight Germany’s central role in stabilising Ukraine’s energy supply in light of Russia’s ongoing attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities.
To quote Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Katherina Reiche: “Russia is consistently and deliberately attacking Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in order to turn winter into another weapon. […] Protecting energy supplies means protecting people – that is precisely what this is all about.”
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