The European Investment Bank (EIB) will allocate 50 million euros to Ukraine's State Agency for the Reconstruction and Development of Infrastructure for the purchase of provisional bridges, the agency announced on June 2.
The purpose of the grant, signed by the EIB, the European Central Bank, and the Reconstruction Agency, is to improve the mobility of the Ukrainian population, which has been negatively affected by Russian attacks on infrastructure.
In particular, the provisional bridges should help Ukrainians reach basic services and necessary assistance.
"Destroyed roads and bridges can cost lives in wartime: ambulance, rescue or repair crew will not have time to arrive. We appreciate that EIB and EU partners are willing to support us in rebuilding bridges," said Mustafa Naiem, the head of the reconstruction agency.
According to the agency's statement from May 30, Russia has destroyed 346 bridges since the start of the full-scale invasion.
Ukraine has rebuilt 12 of them and deployed 85 temporary crossings.
The EIB's grant was provided under the EU's Neighborhood Investment Platform.
The Reconstruction Agency said that this grant complements the total extent of the EIB's financial assistance of 2.3 billion euros, of which 1.7 billion euros was allocated in 2022.
Timothy Ash
