Ukraine has signed an “extremely important agreement” with Greece for gas imports to help the country get through winter after repeated Russian strikes on its infrastructure, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during a visit to Athens on Sunday.

Kyiv’s gas supplies have been hammered by Russian bombing in recent weeks, with nearly 60 per cent of Ukraine’s production disabled at one point last month. Ukraine will spend nearly €2bn on total gas imports to compensate for the losses, Zelenskyy said, but did not say if he had secured enough to last the winter.

“Our agreements with Greece today are an important part of the major energy packet we’ve been preparing to provide Ukraine with gas this winter,” Zelenskyy said in a press conference alongside Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. “We rebuild every time the Russians destroy, but it takes time, it takes a lot of effort, it takes equipment.”