EU decides to earmark €500 million tranche to support Ukrainian army

European Union member states on Monday validated the release of a new tranche of funding to provide the Ukrainian armed forces with equipments.

This is the sixth time since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24 that the EU Council has decided to earmark a 500-million euros tranche from the European Peace Facility to support the army in Kyiv.

The European Peace Facility is an envelope created outside the official EU budget, to which the States contribute, because the EU cannot directly finance arms.

With this new tranche, the amount of this envelope devoted to Ukraine now reaches 3 billion euros. As with the previous tranches, the largest share (490 million euros) will be used to purchase lethal-force military equipment. The remaining 10 million euros will be reserved for other types of equipment: fuel, protective clothing, medical equipment etc.

The purpose of this funding is also, this time around, to maintain equipment already delivered.

“The latest indiscriminate attacks on civilian populations and infrastructure in Ukraine by Russia demonstrate once again that country’s complete disregard for human rights and international law,” the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, said parallel with the Council’s announcement. “The EU will continue to support the Ukraine for as long as it takes and as long as necessary.”