European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a loan of up to 35 billion euros ($39 billion) for Ukraine during a visit to Kyiv on Friday, saying it was needed to defend the country against Russian attacks and help it get through the winter.

( MENAFN - UkrinForm) Ukraine's Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said that opening of the EU Defense Innovation Office in Kyiv is a new chapter in relations with the European Union in the area of defense technologies. As reported by Ukrinform, Rustem Umerov said this in his post on facebook .

Russia continues to target the war-torn country's energy infrastructure, leaving parts of the east in darkness for hours at a time.