EU Releases Billions in Military and Macroeconomic Aid to Ukraine

The European Union approved two major funding packages for Ukraine between September 24 and 25, totaling nearly 10 billion euros. On September 24, the EU Council authorized nearly 3 billion euros as the eighth tranche of the Ukraine Facility, which includes 800 million euros via the Ukraine Support Loan program. This disbursement follows the Government of Ukraine's completion of 84 out of 95 required target steps. Norway also contributed approximately 92 million euros in non-repayable assistance, becoming the first non-EU country to support the facility's first pillar.

On September 25, EU member states agreed to release 6.6 billion euros from the European Peace Facility, ending a veto by the Government of Hungary that had blocked the funds since spring 2023. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas announced that 900 million euros will support the EU military assistance mission and 1 billion euros will fund joint equipment procurement. The remaining 4.7 billion euros will reimburse member states, some of whom, including Greece and Spain, intend to channel those funds back to Ukraine for air defense capabilities.

Kallas stated that the decision rejects Moscow's hybrid attacks intended to intimidate Europe. The final legal signing for the military aid is scheduled for the EU Council meeting on September 28.