EU Disburses €3.3 Billion for Ukrainian Missiles and Drones

The European Commission disbursed a €3.3 billion tranche to Ukraine for the procurement of missiles and drones. This payment marks the fourth disbursement under the defense window of a €90 billion Ukraine Support Loan for 2026-2027, which allocates €60 billion for defense and €30 billion for budgetary aid. With this installment, the EU has mobilized nearly €15 billion for Ukraine this year.

President Ursula von der Leyen and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy coordinated the disbursement during a phone call, where they also discussed using remaining Security Action for Europe funds to launch a joint EU-Ukraine program. This initiative aims to develop a European air and missile defense system based on the Freya anti-ballistic system, combining Ukrainian battlefield experience with European industrial capacity.

While the funding arrives amid Russian missile and drone attacks across eight Ukrainian regions, it comes as Ukraine faces a $27 billion defense budget gap for the remainder of the year. Von der Leyen noted that further funding remains contingent on the Verkhovna Rada passing necessary anti-corruption, judicial, fiscal, and green energy reforms. This follows corruption investigations into Ukraine's political elite, including a $100 million kickback network involving the state nuclear operator Energoatom.

Additional support was confirmed by allies, including Germany's delivery of PAC-2 interceptors and Denmark's acceleration of a 1.8-billion-Danish-crown donation for air defenses following a naval incident involving a Russian frigate.