“We have a deal. Decision to provide 90 billion euros ($105.5 billion) of support to Ukraine for 2026-27 approved. We committed, we delivered.” ~ EU Council President, Antonio Costa 🇺🇦👏💙💛🙏🇪🇺
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European leaders approved an interest-free loan for Ukraine, providing a financial lifeline and securing the cash-strapped country’s financing needs for at least the next two years, EU Council President Antonio Costa said on Dec. 19.
“We have a deal. Decision to provide 90 billion euros ($105.5 billion) of support to Ukraine for 2026-27 approved. We committed, we delivered,” Costa said in a post on social media.
EU officials had initially sought to underpin a large loan to Ukraine with frozen Russian assets, but after failing to secure a consensus, they opted for an alternative financing approach.
The frozen-assets proposal fell apart at the eleventh hour amid divisions among EU leaders in Brussels. The bloc ultimately opted for a loan backed by the EU budget, a solution that avoids Russian assets but may be more expensive and less flexible than originally planned.
The agreement will lend the funds to Ukraine in 2026 and 2027, securing two-thirds of the country’s financing needs. Kyiv was set to run out of cash by mid-2026.
“This (agreement) sends a clear signal from Europe to Putin: This war will not be worth it,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on X.
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Photo: Michael Kappeler / Getty Images.