EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell announced Monday that the EU has agreed to provide another €500 million in financial support to Ukraine’s military, bringing the total amount given by the bloc to €2.5 billion.
“Everybody in a unanimous way said ‘yes, let’s put 500 million more,’” Borrell told reporters following a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels. “The decision will be taken in the next days but today the ministers agreed on the proposal.”
The money will be disbursed via an EU fund called the European Peace Facility (EPF), which reimburses members of the bloc that send arms to Ukraine to help in its fight against Russia’s invasion.
The EU agreed to put €500 million into the EPF in February and has topped it up several times since. This fifth tranche of money, which still needs to be approved by EU countries, will bring the total support to €2.5 billion.
European Council President Charles Michel said in a tweet that he “welcomed” the ministers’ agreement on the new funding, adding: “Europe continues delivering for peace and defence of our values.”
Borrell also said work on sanctions against Russia would continue, with more measures coming. “These sanctions work, the Russian economy is severely affected,” Borrell said, adding that the sanctions had not resulted in an increase in oil prices.
Monday’s meeting of foreign ministers also included a discussion on the European Commission’s plans to ban Russian gold imports.
