By BRUSSELS. Dec 16 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The European Union and Ukraine have signed an agreement on the allocation of EUR100 million for the restoration of schools destroyed by the Russians during the war in Ukraine.
"Exactly three months after President von der Leyen’s announcement in her 2022 State of the Union Address, the European Commission and the government of Ukraine have signed a EUR100 million support package for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of schooling facilities damaged in Russia’s full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine. Support will reach Ukraine through the EU’s humanitarian partners and partly as budget support to the government of Ukraine," the EC said.
"The European Commission has allocated around EUR14 million from an ongoing contract with the Polish Development Bank "Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego" to purchase school buses and bring Ukrainian children safely to school. The commission has also launched an EU-wide solidarity campaign for school buses donate school buses for Ukraine, channeled through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. Overall, around 240 buses are now on the way from the EU and its member states. More are coming," it said.
"Russia’s targeted attacks against civilian infrastructure, especially as winter grips the country, are a deliberate crime against millions of innocent people. And they are a gross violation of international law. The EU’s top priority is to bring back as soon as possible Ukrainian children back to school. Today we are delivering on our promise to support the rehabilitation of schools damaged and destroyed by Russia’s brutal war. And by early 2023, we will also deliver school buses for Ukraine so children can actually travel to school in the best possible conditions. The future of Ukraine begins with its children back in schools," Ursula von der Leyen said.
