EU Backs $105 Billion Loan to Ukraine |
Understanding the conflict three years on.
Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at the European Union’s financial support for Ukraine, Australia proposing a gun buyback program, and violent protests across Bangladesh.
European Union leaders agreed on Friday to provide a $105 billion, interest-free loan to Ukraine over the next two years to support its war effort against Russia. However, the landmark pledge stopped short of allocating billions of dollars’ worth of frozen Russian assets to Kyiv, concluding (at least, for now) a major flash point that has divided the 27-nation bloc.
Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at the European Union’s financial support for Ukraine, Australia proposing a gun buyback program, and violent protests across Bangladesh.
Sign up to receive World Brief in your inbox every weekday.
By submitting your email, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and to receive email correspondence from us. You may opt out at any time.
✓ Signed Up
European Union leaders agreed on Friday to provide a $105 billion, interest-free loan to Ukraine over the next two years to support its war effort against Russia. However, the landmark pledge stopped short of allocating billions of dollars’ worth of frozen Russian assets to Kyiv, concluding (at least, for now) a major flash point that has divided the 27-nation bloc.
Without the EU’s loan, Ukraine was on track to run out of funding in the spring. According to the International Monetary Fund, Kyiv needs $161 billion in 2026 and 2027 to effectively combat Russia; otherwise, Ukraine would be forced to slash drone production. But Friday’s approved loan prevented this concern from becoming a reality—covering roughly two-thirds of Kyiv’s financial needs.
“It is a signal to the Russians that there is no point for them to continue the war because we have financial support, and therefore, we will not collapse on the front line,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X on Friday.
EU leaders also argued that European support for Ukraine is vital to prevent future Russian aggression against the rest of the continent. “We have a simple choice: either money today, or blood tomorrow,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Thursday.
EU member states agreed to use the bloc’s