Von der Leyen offers Zelensky another 37 billion of EU credit

“ Mthere's defense support on the way. And as the reforms of the Rada (Ukrainian Parliament) move forward, so does more budget support. We still have 37 billion available this calendar year,” Von der Leyen said on social network X, after meeting with Zelensky on the margins of the UN General Assembly.

The EU thus allows Ukraine to access by the end of 2026 another €37 billion of the 90 billion credit that the EU has made available to Kyiv for this year and the next.

The Ukrainian President explained on the same social network that spoke to Von der Leyen about “how to ensure Ukraine’s financial resilience” this year and in 2027.

“ We are grateful to the EU for the decision on the EUR 90 billion, and Ukraine is fulfilling its commitments under the agreement to the extent that the budget hole allows it,” Zelensky stressed, referring to the tax adjustments required by the EU for the release of funds.

The Ukrainian ruler recently revealed that Ukraine spent more on defense than expected in the first half of the year, plus 27 billion dollars that need to be covered before the end of the year.

The EU provides almost all the funds supporting the war effort and viability of the Ukrainian State.

Kyiv's financial situation has also worsened in recent weeks due to the campaign of Russian attacks against traditionally strategic sectors of the Ukrainian economy, such as agriculture and metallurgy.

Russia invaded Ukraine on a large scale in February 2022 and since then Kyiv has relied on EU support.

Today, too, EU Member States have agreed to renew the sanctions package to Russia for violation of Ukraine's territorial integrity, just hours before it expires, the Irish presidency of the EU Council announced.

This package of sanctions expired today and its renewal was blocked several days ago because France and Luxembourg wanted to remove two Russian oligarchs, which had been blocked by Latvia.

This sanctions regime, applied to Russia for violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, covers around 2,600 individuals and entities and includes the freezing of assets and the prohibition of making funds available to sanctioned persons, now in force until 22 September 2029.

The sanctions under discussion are different from the economic sanctions against Russia, which cover sectors such as energy, trade and finance and have recently been extended by the EU.