EU points out that €90bn loan will cover only two-thirds of Ukraine's needs

The European Union's €90 billion loan to Ukraine for 2026-2027 has been designed to cover two-thirds of the country's budgetary and defence needs, and the EU is currently focused on disbursing the funds under the loan.

Source: European Commission chief spokesperson Paula Pinho, responding to a question about the prospects of covering Ukraine's defence budget shortfall, as reported by European Pravda

Details: The EU is continuing disbursements under the two-year €90 billion loan, which is intended to cover two-thirds of Ukraine's budgetary and defence needs.

Quote: "When we put forward the €90 billion loan for Ukraine, the idea was indeed that it covers budgetary and defence needs for 2026-2027, two-thirds of it. That's the calculation that it would be covering two-thirds of the needs of Ukraine in these domains for the two years."

Details: Pinho noted that "there is one third which cannot be covered by the EU and where we have been urging our partners to come in and step in".

The EU's chief spokesperson also pointed out that "these disbursements are also linked to the reforms that are being introduced in Ukraine", calling this "a critical aspect".

Quote: "We are making very good progress in that disbursement based on the requests that are being assessed from Ukraine, but again linked to the reforms that are gradually being introduced. So it is already extremely ambitious."

"[We are] well acknowledging the extreme needs of Ukraine and well acknowledging the situation on the ground, and we know very well that there are very, very strong needs by Ukraine in order to be in a position to deter further aggression, but we are focused now on what is already a very ambitious disbursement plan, and for the moment that's where our focus lies."

Background:

• The EU previously said that Ukraine had not submitted a formal request to the European Commission for an early disbursement in 2026 of the portion of the €90 billion loan earmarked for 2027, which would be used to cover Ukraine's €27 billion defence budget shortfall this year.
• On 24 August, the European Commission approved €6.1 billion in defence procurement for Ukraine under the EU's €90 billion loan.
• The EU is expected to disburse around €20 billion to Ukraine by the end of 2026, with new tranches potentially arriving in the coming weeks.
• On 30 July, the Council of the EU approved an updated reform plan under the Ukraine Facility mechanism, allowing Ukraine to receive €8.3 billion in 2026 to cover budgetary needs.

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