Portugal to help Ukraine with €1M for energy crisis

Portugal’s minister of foreign affairs announced on Wednesday that Portugal would provide an extraordinary contribution of €1 million to NATO’s package of non-lethal support to Ukraine in the context of the energy crisis in that country.

“Portugal will make an extraordinary contribution to the comprehensive assistance package, which is a NATO package for non-lethal support and, therefore, which will also be dedicated to restoring Ukraine’s energy capacity. And we have indicated today that we will provide an extraordinary contribution of €1 million,” he said.

João Gomes Cravinho was speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the North Atlantic Council meeting which brings together NATO’s foreign ministers at the Palace of Parliament in the Romanian capital and ends today.

Asked if Portugal would help Ukraine with generators or other types of material to help restore the country’s energy system and combat the winter – which according to NATO is being used by the Russian president as a “weapon of war” – Cravinho said that this possibility was being studied, but stressed that “there is currently a general shortage on the generators market due to high demand, precisely to cope with the destruction caused by Russia.

“Concerning military support, it is a constant. Portugal is constantly reviewing its possibilities and throughout the duration of the war we will certainly reinforce our support,” he stressed.