EU pledges new winter aid and justice for Russian war crimes.
The EU’s foreign policy chief announced fresh support packages and warned that Russia seeks to test Europe’s unity through fear and disinformation.
Standing in Kyiv on Monday (13 October), EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Russia is deliberately trying to test the EU’s unity and is “sowing fear in societies” so that Europeans begin questioning their support for Ukraine. Kallas warned that if tensions continue to rise, “our citizens may ask: ‘Why are we helping Ukraine if we need our own air defence?’”
Her remarks came as she announced a new round of EU assistance to help Ukraine through the coming winter and to ensure accountability for Russian crimes of aggression. “We are finalising the 19th package of sanctions, targeting Russia’s energy sector and financial flows, to deprive it of the resources to wage this war,” Kallas said. She added that, in parallel, the EU is preparing a winter aid package to help Ukraine restore energy infrastructure and cope with Russian attacks on civilian facilities.
Russian forces attacked Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, with guided bombs on Monday, knocking out power to 30,000 customers in three districts, local officials said.
Sanctions and winter support
At a joint press conference with Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha, Kallas confirmed that the EU has already mobilised €800 million to support Ukraine’s winter preparedness and is working on an additional €100 million for generators, shelters and essential equipment. “Russia is trying to compensate for its failures on the battlefield with terrorist attacks against civilians and Ukraine’s energy system,” she said, stressing that Europe’s response must be “solidarity, not fatigue”.
The announcement comes amid a broader European effort to sustain Kyiv’s defences ahead of a challenging winter. Sweden recently pledged nearly €100 million in new humanitarian aid, while Denmark unveiled a military assistance package worth over $400 million.
During her Kyiv visit, Kallas also announced €10 million in EU funding for the creation of a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Russian Aggression, to be based in The Hague. “Russia’s leaders are responsible for this war, and there would be no war crimes without the crime of aggression,” she told reporters. “No one should go unpunished for the atrocities committed – the forced deportation of children and sexual violence are among the darkest pages of this war.”
In addition, the EU will allocate €6 million to support children deported by Russia and victims of sexual violence, ensuring they receive psychological and social assistance. The tribunal, an initiative supported by both the Council of Europe and Ukraine, will allow investigations into Russia’s top leadership, with sentencing possible once those responsible lose official immunity. EU unity under pressure
Kallas acknowledged that Moscow’s hybrid tactics – disinformation, energy coercion and military escalation – aim to weaken European cohesion. “Russia is testing us,” she told “Suspilne”. “It wants Europeans to fear the consequences of standing with Ukraine.”
The Estonian diplomat, who has become one of the EU’s most vocal advocates of robust deterrence against Moscow, insisted that the bloc’s response must remain firm and coordinated. “Unity is our greatest strength – that is what Russia is trying to destroy,” she said.
Her visit coincided with the departure of a Ukrainian government delegation to Washington, led by Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, to discuss new defence and energy support as well as the use of frozen Russian assets for Ukraine’s recovery. The EU is working in parallel to accelerate a plan for a “reparations loan” backed by profits from immobilised Russian funds.
On 10 October the leaders of Britain, France and Germany said they had agreed in a phone call to move towards using the value of immobilised Russian assets to support Ukraine’s armed forces.
In a statement published by the German government, the E3 leaders said they would do this in cooperation with the United States.
These funds refer to the proceeds or value derived from approximately €300 billion in frozen Russian central bank assets held in Western depositories, primarily in Europe, which the E3 leaders aim to leverage as collateral or through interest earnings to provide military support to Ukraine in coordination with the US.
The E3 leaders’ statement signals a readiness to progress toward leveraging the full value, potentially through coordinated collateralization for larger loans (e.g., €140-165 billion proposals), if consensus is reached with the US and G7 allies to mitigate risks like reversibility under international law and blowback on Western assets in Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday that he would meet U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on Friday, where the two would discuss Ukraine’s air defence and long-range strike capabilities.