Ukraine receives €1.2 billion from EU for defense needs
Photo: Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi (facebook.com/zelenskyy.official)
Ukraine has received another €1.2 billion from the European Union under the Ukraine Support Loan program, according to Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi.
According to the prime minister, the funds will be directed toward urgent defense needs.
With this tranche, Ukraine has already received nearly €13 billion in defense financing under the program.
"We continue working with our European partners to ensure that the remaining planned funding arrives on time and in full," Koretskyi said.
Defense Ministry budget gap
In late August, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine's Defense Forces urgently need additional funding. According to him, the requirement amounts to $27 billion, with about $10 billion needed by the end of this year.
The Defense Ministry's budget deficit is partly related to military salaries, but mainly concerns funding for missiles and drones.
The Defense Ministry said it had already developed a plan to cover the funding needs. However, as RBC-Ukraine sources noted, the issue needed to be resolved during September to prevent the Defense Forces from facing a serious funding shortage in October.
Recently, Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi announced that Ukraine had received a €3.3 billion tranche from the EU under the Ukraine Support Loan program. The funds are intended for urgent defense needs.
