Switzerland to provide Ukraine with up to 32 million francs to tackle energy crisis

Switzerland will provide Ukraine with up to 32 million francs (850 million Kč) to help it cope with the crisis caused by Russian attacks on its energy infrastructure. The federal government in Bern announced this today.

Since the start of the year, Russia has intensified air attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, causing widespread power cuts across the country. The attacks came during an exceptionally cold period, when temperatures regularly hovered around minus 15 degrees Celsius.

Swiss companies will deliver 80 powerful generators and 18 gas-fired power modules to Ukraine in the coming weeks, with a total value of up to 32 million francs, the government said, adding that it had fulfilled a request from the Ukrainian side.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared an energy emergency in mid-January, and Ukraine’s diplomats subsequently appealed to partners for urgent help in tackling the energy crisis in the country invaded by Russia.

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, Switzerland has provided Ukraine with humanitarian aid worth hundreds of millions of francs, supported reconstruction projects and joined some of the sanctions imposed on Russia by the European Union. At the same time, however, it has faced criticism for banning the re-export of Swiss weapons to Ukraine, a policy Bern says is necessary to preserve its traditional neutrality.