EU Plans $5 Billion Loan for Ukraine

The European Union is set to provide a further $5 billion in emergency funding for Ukraine, but the bloc is still falling short of the assistance it pledged to provide to Kyiv in May.

On Wednesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU’s executive body would propose a new loan for Ukraine of 5 billion euros, equivalent to $5 billion, saying that the “situation in Ukraine requires our full support.”

The announcement comes after months of wrangling between member states over how to fund €9 billion the EU first pledged in May to help Ukraine pay salaries and bills. At around the same time, Washington approved a $40 billion package for Ukraine, including huge grants.

The EU’s failure to drum up the assistance more speedily comes as the costs of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in Europe are rising sharply. The holdup after the May announcement was one of the first signs the EU was running out of momentum on new measures to take against Russia and fresh support for Ukraine.