I have come to Ukraine in the heart of winter.

I come with one clear message to every mother, father, and child suffering through this freezing winter:

The European Union is with you.

These hundreds of generators are more than machines. They are engines of heat, engines of light, and engines of hope. Concrete European solidarity.

For four years, Russia has attacked your homes, your hospitals, your schools.

Now it is targeting something even more basic: the power to heat a room and to light a home.

Russia is waging “energy terror”, turning winter into a weapon of war. Cutting power. Cutting heating.

At -20 degrees, this is not about staying warm. It is about staying alive. Hour by hour, night by night.

That is why Europe has acted fast.

Since 2022, we have offered more than 11,000 generators, thousands of transformers, and millions of energy-saving lights.

We even coordinated the transfer of an entire power plant from Lithuania to help restore electricity across the country, the largest operation ever carried out under the European Civil Protection Mechanism.

Thanks to this support, more than nine million Ukrainians have power, in their homes, in hospitals, in shelters, and in schools.

Russia wants to freeze Ukrainians into submission. This will not happen.

Russian attacks may destroy infrastructure, but behind every strike stand Ukrainians, determined and unbroken. That is something no force can destroy.

I want you to know how much respect we have for the way you endure, day after day, despite the cold and the uncertainty.

This is my fifth visit to Ukraine. Each time my determination grows stronger. Because when I return to Brussels, I carry your faces and your names with me.

Let me end with a message for the children of Ukraine.

Millions of people in countless countries are working every day to keep you safe. To bring you warmth when you are cold, light when it is dark.

And when things feel difficult, when you feel cold or afraid, remember this: 450 million Europeans are with you. And we will stay with you until peace returns.

Even in the darkest times, there is light. There is hope. And there is love.