The payment was made on 18 September through the defence window of the €90 billion Ukraine Support Loan. It is the fourth disbursement from that part of the programme.
The latest payment brings Commission support delivered to Ukraine this year to nearly €15 billion. That figure covers defence procurement and broader financial assistance.
The Ukraine Support Loan provides €60 billion for defence and €30 billion in budgetary support during 2026 and 2027. Further payments will follow under the programme’s rules and monitoring requirements.
The Commission said Ukraine needs critical military products in sufficient quantities and within short timeframes. It called for faster European deliveries through destocking, reprioritised orders and higher production.
The EU executive is also prepared to use remaining funds from the Security Action for Europe instrument for a joint EU-Ukraine programme. The initiative would develop a European air and missile defence system based on the existing Freya anti-ballistic system.
The programme would combine Ukraine’s battlefield experience with European industrial and technological capacity. It would also support Ukraine’s gradual integration into the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base.
The disbursement follows the Commission’s approval of €6.1 billion for Ukrainian defence requirements on 11 September. That package covers air and missile defence and includes PAC-3 interceptors for Patriot systems.
The Council allocated up to €45 billion to Ukraine for 2026 after Kyiv submitted its financing strategy. The total includes €28.3 billion for defence industrial capacity and €16.7 billion in budgetary assistance.
The budgetary funding is divided equally between the Ukraine Facility and Macro-Financial Assistance. Each programme can receive up to €8.35 billion.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will seek more international support for Ukraine at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. “Europe is stepping up. Now others must step up their support too,” she said.
The EU and its member states have provided €224.5 billion in overall support to Ukraine since 2022. The total includes €3.8 billion from proceeds generated by immobilised Russian assets.
Source: European Commission (press release).
