Overview
- Financed through EU borrowing secured against the bloc’s budget, the two-year package is designed to start delivering funds to Kyiv quickly in 2026–27.
- Ukraine will only repay once Russia pays reparations, and the EU says it reserves the right to use immobilized Russian assets to repay the loan in line with EU and international law.
- Hungary, Czechia and Slovakia secured exemptions from financial obligations tied to the loan, clearing the way for unanimous approval.
- With roughly €210 billion in Russian sovereign assets still immobilized—most at Euroclear in Belgium—the Bank of Russia has sued Euroclear and threatened broader legal action, and Vladimir Putin denounced any use of the funds as “robbery.”
- Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the decision as strengthening Ukraine’s resilience; the IMF estimates Kyiv needs about €135–137 billion for 2026–27, and Zelensky said the funds will go to defense if the war continues or to reconstruction if a peace takes hold.