The Twenty-Seven have reached an agreement to activate 6.6 billion euros in military support for Ukraine that were blocked, funds that will be used for the training of Ukrainian soldiers, for the acquisition of new military equipment, and to compensate European partners for the weapons already sent to Kiev.
"The EU member states have agreed on the conditions to release 6.6 billion euros from the European Peace Facility for Ukraine," announced the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, in a message on social media.
Of the total, the commitment sets aside 900 million euros for the EU mission that trains the Armed Forces of Ukraine and another 1 billion will be directed to new joint purchases of military equipment. The remaining 4.7 billion will serve to reimburse the member states for part of the cost of the weapons they have already delivered to Kiev.
A fraction of this last block could also be directed directly to Ukraine, given that, as Kallas has indicated, several governments have expressed their willingness to channel towards the country the funds they receive as compensation for their previous contributions.
The 6.6 billion is framed within the European Peace Facility, the mechanism with which the Twenty-Seven finance, among other purposes, the sending of military material to Kiev and the partial reimbursement to the states for the deliveries made with their own means.
"This is good news for Ukraine and bad news for Russia," stated the head of European diplomacy, who pointed out that Moscow's "hybrid attacks" seek to "intimidate Europe" into reducing its support for Kiev. "Europe is doing just the opposite," she emphasized.
Von der Leyen promises more support soon
Also, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has applauded the unlocking of these resources, which she has described as "excellent news," emphasizing that it will strengthen Ukraine's defensive capacity both with training programs and with new equipment.
"It means more support for the defense of Ukraine, from training to equipment. It complements what we are doing through our support packages for Ukraine, both for the state and for defense," she noted.
In this context, Von der Leyen has announced that Brussels is finalizing new support initiatives for Kiev, although for now, she has not provided concrete details about their scope. "And there will be more from our side. Very soon," she has assured.