France to provide €70m more to support Ukraine's critical infrastructure

France has set to allocate a further €70 million to support projects in Ukraine under the Fund for Critical Infrastructure and Priority Economic Sectors of Ukraine.

As reported by Ukrinform, Ukraine's Economy Minister Oleksii Sobolev spoke after a meeting of the joint Ukrainian-French intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation. He said that under the first grant agreement between France and Ukraine on critical infrastructure support, partners provided €200 million to finance 19 selected projects across different sectors.

"Today the extension of this project was announced. This is an additional €70 million which is expected to arrive in mid-2026 and help many companies keep working," he said.

The competitive selection of projects is due to begin in mid-February.

French and Ukrainian companies also signed a number of bilateral memoranda of intent. They envisage further cooperation involving localising production and transferring technology to manufacture products in Ukraine.

"These memoranda cover the integration of AI solutions, virtual platforms for drones, the development of new aerial platforms drawing on Ukraine's experience, stronger humanitarian demining capacity, as well as co-operation in the agricultural sector and satellite internet, among other areas," he added.

Earlier, Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged people worldwide to launch Warmth for Ukraine fundraising campaigns following a successful public appeal in Poland for generators and charging stations for Kyiv.

A major fundraising effort has also taken place in Czechia. The Czech government is preparing to send 55 generators to Ukraine.