European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced Thursday, June 25, that the European Union has disbursed the first tranche of its €90 billion long-term support loan to Ukraine, delivering €3.2 billion in macro-financial assistance to shore up Kyiv’s urgent budgetary needs.
The announcement was made during the opening day of the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Gdańsk, Poland, where von der Leyen met with EU leaders and Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko. The macro-financial assistance package represents the first installment of an overall €45 billion slated for distribution throughout 2026. This initial payout focuses strictly on helping Kyiv manage domestic revenues, stabilize public financial systems, and maintain public services following Ukraine’s fulfillment of seven core structural reforms required by the European Commission.
While the first tranche was originally intended to include an additional €5.9 billion specifically earmarked for drone procurement, EU officials confirmed that the military funding was temporarily deferred due to technical monitoring hurdles.
Von der Leyen emphasized that the delayed defense funding is on track and that the bloc will begin releasing the first €6 billion dedicated to drone production and industrial defense capacity within the coming days, underscoring that the multi-year loan remains a concrete symbol of Europe’s enduring solidarity with Ukraine.
