The EU disbursed half a billion euro to Ukraine as aid, for purchasing gas in Europe too

Half a billion euro, to be used at Ukraine’s will. This is the amount of the first batch of aid of the new EU Macro-Finance Assistance, unblocked by the European Commission to help the country in this economically critic phase of development. The disbursement follows the one made on 20 May, amounting to about 100 million euro, made according to a previous program. The macro-finance assistance of the EU towards Ukraine comes to 1.61 billion euro, with 1 billion euro remaining after today’s disbursement. The total aid package decided in March will bring Kiev 11 billion euro in total by the Union.

Perhaps not a ‘casual’ choice: the payment made by the European Commission came exactly the day after the stop to gas flows decided by Moscow. Even though it is not sure that the sum is used to cover possible energy shortage by Ukraine, the possibility cannot be ruled off. “It is up to Kiev to decide how to use the assistance given, according to its needs,” explained Simon O’Connor, spokesperson of the Commissioner of the EU for Economic Affairs, Olli Rehn. According to the European Commission, in fact, money “could be used to cover external financial needs, such as gas purchase,” and European society could re-sell Ukraine the gas they bought from Russia – Gazprom already expressed its total disappointment about this possibility.

An explosion along the Poltava pipeline, in Central Ukraine, controlled by Kiev, testified the tension around this gas issue. No person was injured, and it is not clear whether it was an accident or a sabotage made as retaliation for the stop to gas supplies decided by Russia. Yet, the Ukrainian Interior Minister, Arsen Avanok, had no doubt in saying “it was a terrorist attack.”