EBRD Preparing Another $578 Million for Naftogaz to Cover Urgent Gas Imports, Says EBRD VP

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is preparing a new €500 million ($585 million) financing package for Naftogaz to fund urgent gas imports as Ukraine braces for winter under intensified Russian attacks on its energy infrastructure.

The EBRD has already exceeded its 2025 financing targets, deploying nearly €2.3 billion ($2.7 billion), EBRD Vice President for Banking Matteo Patrone told Kyiv Post in an exclusive interview.

This year’s financing is distributed across 46 private sector and 7 public sector projects in Ukraine, Patrone said. The EBRD is ambitious enough to increase this figure annually to €3 billion ($3.5 billion), three times more than its pre-war levels. 

“We are also already preparing another €500 million package for NAK to cover urgent gas imports. However, this will only make a real difference if we get a substantial contribution from donors,” he said. 

Speaking with Kyiv Post during his visit to the Ukrainian capital, Patrone said the EBRD has already started discussions with Ukraine’s “friends and partners” to help the country get through the winter season, although “it’s too early to share concrete plans.” 

Patrone disclosed that the new wave of projects for Ukraine’s harsh winter season amidst Russian attacks on energy infrastructure is centered on distributed generation and repairs. 

“This includes financing of several projects aimed at repairing damaged energy infrastructure and financing of distributed power generation, directly and through our partner banks,” he told Kyiv Post.

EBRD Coordinates Winter Support for Ukraine with International Partners

The EBRD’s VP Patrone said the new package for Naftogaz will be critical for maintaining gas supplies through the winter, though its effectiveness will depend on substantial contribution from donors.

“We will do everything we can to ensure there is enough energy in the system this winter but only if Ukraine’s international partners and the domestic banking sector step up their support too,” he told Kyiv Post. 

Since the start of the war, the EBRD directed more than €3.1 billion ($3.6 billion) for Ukraine’s energy security. 

And in 2025 alone, they have already deployed €1.15 billion ($1.3 billion) in Ukraine’s energy sector, according to Patrone. 

These include €770 million ($890 million) in EBRD loans to Naftogaz for procurement of gas, complemented by €219 million ($253 million) in grants from Norway; and €160 million ($185 million) to Ukrnafta for new distributed gas-fired co-generation capacity.

Energy financing is the EBRD’s major focus, aiming to address vulnerabilities following Russia’s attacks on energy transmission and generation. 

Losing Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant – Europe’s largest nuclear facility – along with thermal plants, proved to be the most “painful” loss for Ukraine’s energy system, National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) Deputy Governor Sergiy Nikolaychuk previously told Kyiv Post.

Patrone said the EBRD is “extremely concerned” about the recent massive Russian attacks on Ukraine’s gas infrastructure. 

“[Recent Russian attacks] have caused significant damage to both the public and private energy infrastructure such as gas production, treatment and transmission facilities,” he said. 

The concern was serious enough for Patrone to arrive in Kyiv himself, meeting with Ukrainian representatives in the National Bank of Ukraine, Ukraine’s Ministry of Finance, and several other ministries. 

According to him, the EBRD has deployed close to €8.5 billion ($9.82 billion) in Ukraine’s real economy.

Apart from energy, the institution’s investments span several key sectors: infrastructure (transport and municipal), agribusiness, food security, and private sector resilience.

Portfolio risk sharing has become the bestseller instrument for the EBRD inside Ukraine. Previously it was aimed at the agricultural sector and small and midsize enterprises (SMEs), but after Russia’s strikes on energy facilities the EBRD widened its scope. 

Kyiv Post previously wrote about the launch of a €700 million portfolio risk-sharing program with Ukrainian banks – the Energy Security Support Facility – which was announced to Kyiv Post by Francis Malige, the Managing Director and Head of the Financial Institutions Group at the EBRD.

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