EU will not allow Russia to paralyze Ukraine with terrorist attacks - von der Leyen

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said this at the International Expert Conference on the Recovery, Reconstruction and Modernization of Ukraine in Berlin on Tuesday, October 25, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"Ukraine needs fast rehabilitation right now, as we speak, especially as Russia is deliberately leading targeted attacks on civilian infrastructure with the very clear aim to cut off men, women and children of water, electricity and heating as the winter is approaching. These are pure acts of terror, and Russia tries to paralyses Ukraine. But we will not let this happen," von der Leyen said.

She recalled that there are currently around 11 million internally displaced people in Ukraine. "They need shelter, heating, water and electricity. Their children need to go to school. Therefore, we need to repair houses, schools and infrastructure already right now," she said.

"As European Commission, we have announced to support this rehabilitation of damaged Ukrainian schools or the repair of electricity infrastructure. And through the Union Civil Protection Mechanism, we have provided tents and over 600,000 items for shelter. But we all know that more has to be done. This phase of fast rehabilitation is essential to ensure that life can continue in Ukraine," von der Leyen said.