The Nordic-Baltic Eight (NB8) nations will work to secure additional financial, material, and technical assistance for Ukraine’s energy sector ahead of the upcoming winter period, First Deputy Prime Minister and Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal announced on Friday, Sept. 4. According to Shmyhal, it is critical that international assistance addresses the immediate, practical needs of the power grid while simultaneously reinforcing its long-term resilience, facilitating decentralization, and advancing its integration into the broader European energy market.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. Shmyhal noted that over the course of the full-scale war, Ukraine has accumulated significant expertise in maintaining and restoring energy supplies while under sustained physical and cyber attacks from Russia, adding that Kyiv is prepared to share these operational strategies with its partners. The NB8 format – comprising Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden – has already allocated at least €918 million ($1 billion) in 2026 specifically to provide Ukraine with energy resources and to protect and rebuild its energy infrastructure. Ongoing debate over frozen Russian assets The regional commitment from the NB8 comes amid a broader, stalled debate within the EU regarding the use of immobilized Russian sovereign assets to cover Ukraine’s wider wartime financial deficits. President Volodymyr Zelensky recently stated his administration faces a €23.5 billion funding gap as it prepares for the winter. In response, Sweden, Poland, the Netherlands, and Spain have renewed calls for the European Commission to find mechanisms to harness approximately €200 billion in frozen Russian assets to support Kyiv.