April 23, 2026, 4:45 p.mApril 23, 2026, 4:45 p.m
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has praised the release of EU aid funds totaling 90 billion euros (around 83 billion francs) for his country.
“This European package strengthens our army, gives Ukraine more resilience and allows us to fulfill our social obligations to Ukrainians,” the head of state wrote on social networks.
The aim is for the first payments to be made in May or in June at the latest. “The funds of this European package will be used, among other things, for the production of weapons and the purchase of necessary weapons from our partners that we do not yet produce in Ukraine,” Zelensky added.
Kiev originally expected to receive the first EU funds from the two-year loan in April. However, the Hungarian blockade of the EU loan, which has now been lifted, due to the dispute over the interrupted oil transit via the “Druzhba” pipeline, delayed the process.
Zelensky is pushing for Russia sanctions to be expanded
At talks in Cyprus as part of an informal EU summit, Zelensky will also push for stronger sanctions against Russia, the Ukrainian president said. The EU’s 20th sanctions package against Russia, which has just been launched, would have to be followed by further sanctions steps.
With Western support, Ukraine has been defending itself against a Russian invasion for more than four years. Since the start of the war, the Eastern European country says it has received the equivalent of almost 150 billion euros from foreign donors for its state budget alone. More than 40 percent of household spending is financed with money from abroad. (sda/dpa)