The EU has allocated the first tranche of €3.9 billion to Ukraine for drones as part of the Ukraine Support Loan programme
The European Commission has begun disbursing the first tranche of financial assistance to Ukraine under the new Ukraine Support Loan facility.
This is the first tranche of defence support, which provides funding for the purchase of drones to strengthen Ukraine’s defence capabilities. The total value of the first package is around 6 billion euros.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that Europe continues to support Ukraine in its stand-off against Russia’s full-scale aggression.
“Ukraine’s ingenuity is at the heart of its success in resisting Russia’s full-scale invasion. We want to support this ingenuity. Today we are allocating the first tranche of 3.9 billion euros for cutting-edge drone technology to strengthen Ukraine’s defences,” said Ursula von der Leyen.
She noted that these investments should help Ukraine protect its citizens and sovereignty, and strengthen Europe’s security.
The European Commission clarified that all contracts submitted to confirm the use of funds will be subject to verification to ensure the funds are used for their intended purpose.
Subsequent payments will also cover the procurement of drones and will later extend to ammunition, missiles and air defence systems.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko reported that funds from the European Union under this mechanism have already been transferred to a special fund within the state budget.
According to her, the funding will be directed towards the production of Ukrainian drones, strengthening the capabilities of the defence-industrial complex and meeting the urgent needs of the front line.
Svyrydenko emphasised that this tranche was the first package of defence support under the Ukraine Support Loan programme.
Earlier, on 25 June, Ukraine’s state budget also received €3.2 billion in budgetary support under the same loan programme.
