The EU plans to pay the first €4.5 billion to Ukraine under the new 50-billion aid program, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced during her visit to Kyiv.
“We discussed the next steps on the €50 billion Ukraine Facility. The 1st payment of €4.5 billion will come in March,” she said on her X page.
The EU recently announced plans to raise $1.5 billion to provide Ukraine with artillery shells from other nations, following a proposal by the Czech Republic.
During the Munich Security Conference, Czech President Petr Pavel mentioned that Prague has identified opportunities abroad to acquire hundreds of thousands of artillery shells, which could be quickly delivered to Ukraine with the necessary financial support from partners.
According to the Financial Times, citing officials familiar with the discussions, European capitals are rushing to gather $1.5 billion in emergency funding to supply Ukraine with artillery shells from abroad to strengthen the frontline against Russia.
The newspaper’s sources indicated that the Czech Republic requires assistance from its European partners to secure the $1.5 billion needed to finance the ammunition purchase, with some European Union members already contributing their share.
The EU also declared the provision of €83 million in humanitarian assistance to aid those impacted by the conflict in Ukraine instigated by Russia in 2024.
The deliberate bombardment of Ukraine’s essential infrastructure by Russia, including healthcare facilities, educational institutions, and power networks, is drastically obstructing access to fundamental services for the populace.
Given that approximately 14.6 million individuals require humanitarian help in Ukraine, the timing of this funding is critical.
Out of the total, €75 million is dedicated to humanitarian initiatives within Ukraine to d
