EU agrees to release €6.6 billion linked to Ukraine military aid

BRUSSELS: European Union member countries have agreed a deal to release €6.6 billion ($7.5 billion) in EU funds linked to military aid for Ukraine, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Friday.

The money will come from the European Peace Facility, a fund used by EU members to finance military aid to countries outside the bloc. It also refunds EU governments for military aid they have provided.

Of the released funds, €900 million will go to the EU’s military assistance mission for Ukraine and €1 billion will fund new joint procurement of equipment, Kallas said in a post on X.

She added the remaining €4.7 billion will go to reimburse member states, some of whom have already said they would channel their share to Ukraine.

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“That’s good news for Ukraine and bad news for Russia,” Kallas said. “Moscow’s hybrid attacks try to intimidate Europe into scaling back its support for Ukraine. Europe is doing the opposite.”

Money related to Ukraine stuck in the fund for months, initially blocked by the previous Hungarian government, under Russia-friendly Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

It was unclear exactly how much of the funds to be released under Friday’s agreement would directly benefit Ukraine. It will be up to individual EU governments to decide how much of their refunds they allocate to fresh military aid for Kyiv.