December 20 (UPI) — European Union officials have agreed to provide Ukraine with a $105 billion loan to help it remain financially solvent in the event of a Russian attack on the Odessa region over the next two years.
The funding replaces funds allocated to Ukraine from Russia’s frozen assets worth nearly $246 billion held in Belgium, the BBC reported.
The funds amount to about two-thirds of what Ukraine needs to pay its bills and give it a stronger bargaining position as peace talks continue to end the war in Ukraine sparked by Russia’s February 24, 2022, invasion of the neighboring country, The New York Times reported.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the loan was interest-free and would only be repaid if Russia was required to pay reparations to Ukraine.
News of the EU funding comes after a Russian missile attack near Odessa on Friday night that killed eight people and injured 27 others, CNN reported.
Russian missiles struck a port facility in Pivden and some of the casualties were on a bus that was hit during the attack.
The missile strike was part of an ongoing air campaign targeting the Odessa area over the past nine days, causing a power outage in Odessa. Odessa is located on the Black Sea coast, about 300 miles south of Kiev.
Two bridges in southern and northern Odessa were destroyed in recent strikes and are currently being repaired.
Russian forces have also targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and have used drones and missiles to damage or destroy many targets in recent months.