Ukraine War
Ontario pledges $1 million to Ukraine Energy Fund ahead of fifth wartime winter
Totronto: Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced Thursday that the province will donate $1 million to the Ukraine Energy Support Fund, an international effort to repair and maintain Ukraine's critical energy infrastructure, as the country heads into a fifth winter of Russia's invasion.
Ford made the announcement at a meeting with the political advocacy network United for Ukraine. The contribution is the largest made to the fund to date by a Canadian province, and comes as officials warn that Ukraine's power grid remains vulnerable to continued Russian strikes heading into the coldest months of the year.
"As the people of Ukraine continue to defend their country against Russia's illegal invasion and ongoing attacks, including on civilians, Ontario will always stand with those defending freedom and democracy," Ford said.
"Ontario's donation to the Ukraine Energy Support Fund will help Ukraine respond to Russian attacks and repair damage to vital infrastructure so the country can continue to defend their sovereignty today and for generations to come."
The Ukraine Energy Support Fund was set up to help stabilize electricity, heating and water services in Ukraine after repeated Russian strikes on energy infrastructure, and operates under the Energy Community Secretariat, based in Vienna, Austria.
Combined with a separate contribution from the federal government, Ontario's donation helps make Canada one of the fund's largest international donors.
Andrii Plakhotniuk, Ukraine's Ambassador to Canada, said Russia has continued to target the country's energy grid as the war approaches its fifth winter.
"Russia continues to systematically target Ukraine's critical energy infrastructure, seeking to use the coming winter as a weapon against the Ukrainian people," Plakhotniuk said, adding that the funding "will help Ukraine repair damaged energy infrastructure, restore essential services and strengthen the resilience of our energy system ahead of the winter months."
He thanked Ford and the Ontario government "for this important contribution and for their steadfast solidarity with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people."
Ontario has taken other steps tied to Ukraine in recent years. In 2023, the province made education on the Holodomor, the Soviet-era famine that killed millions of Ukrainians in the 1930s, compulsory for high school students, citing the need to teach young people about the toll of the famine and the dangers of extreme political ideologies.
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