BRUSSELS – The Council of the European Union on Tuesday approved the fifth regular payment under its €50 billion Ukraine Facility, disbursing more than €1.8 billion ($2 billion) to Kyiv in a move aimed at bolstering the war-torn country’s macro-financial stability and public administration as Russia’s full-scale invasion approaches its fifth year.
The decision, announced in a formal statement from the Council presidency, follows Ukraine’s “successful completion” of nine qualitative and quantitative indicators required for the fifth installment, along with one outstanding indicator carried over from the fourth payment tranche. These steps are part of a broader reform matrix tied to the Ukraine Plan, Kyiv’s strategic roadmap for recovery, reconstruction, modernization, and alignment with European Union accession criteria.
“The payment will contribute to maintaining Ukraine’s macro-financial stability and the functioning of its public administration in the context of Russia’s ongoing war of aggression,” the Council said. The funds are expected to support critical budgetary needs, including salaries for public sector workers, pensions, and essential services that have been strained by continuous military operations and infrastructure damage.
The Ukraine Facility, which formally entered into force on March 1, 2024, represents the EU’s largest single-country financial support package in its history. It commits up to €50 billion in grants and highly concessional loans over the 2024–2027 period, with approximately €32 billion allocated directly to reforms and investments outlined in the Ukraine Plan. Disbursements are strictly conditional: each tranche requires verifiable progress on a predefined set of policy indicators spanning public finance management, anti-corruption measures, judicial reform, energy sector resilience, digital transformation, and decentralization.
To date, the Facility has delivered substantial liquidity to Ukraine. Prior to Tuesday’s payment, the EU had provided €6 billion in bridge financing to bridge immediate gaps before the program’s launch, €1.89 billion in pre-financing upon the Ukraine Plan’s endorsement in spring 2024, and four regular installments totaling €15 billion: €4.2 billion in August 2024, €4.1 billion in October 2024, €3.5 billion in December 2024, and €3.2 billion in March 2025. Including the latest €1.8 billion, cumulative disbursements under the Facility now exceed €24.69 billion.
The Council emphasized that the indicators cleared for the fifth payment included advancements in public procurement transparency, the operationalization of the Business Ombudsman Council, progress on state-owned enterprise governance, and the adoption of a medium-term revenue strategy. The outstanding fourth-tranche indicator, related to the implementation of the National Energy and Climate Plan, was also satisfactorily addressed, clearing the path for the current release.
European Commission Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis, who oversees the Facility’s technical implementation, welcomed the decision. “Ukraine continues to deliver on its reform commitments despite extraordinary circumstances. This payment is a testament to the EU’s unwavering partnership and to Kyiv’s determination to build a modern, resilient state on the path to EU membership,” he said in a separate statement.
The Ukraine Plan itself was jointly developed by Ukrainian authorities and the European Commission and formally adopted by the Council in May 2024. It contains 69 quarterly indicators spread across 15 policy pillars, ranging from democratic institutions and the rule of law to green transition and business environment improvements. Each indicator is independently assessed by the Commission before the Council authorizes payment.
Tuesday’s disbursement comes at a pivotal moment. Ukraine’s economy, while demonstrating remarkable resilience—contracting by only 29.1% in 2022 before rebounding with 5.3% growth in 2023 and an estimated 3.6% in 2024—faces mounting pressures. The International Monetary Fund projects a 2025 budget deficit of around 20% of GDP, driven by defense expenditures exceeding $40 billion annually and reconstruction costs estimated by the World Bank at $486 billion over the next decade.
The EU’s support is complemented by parallel assistance from the G7, including the Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration (ERA) loans backed by frozen Russian sovereign assets. In October 2025, the G7 finalized a $50 billion loan package, with the EU contributing €18 billion and the United States $20 billion. While the Ukraine Facility operates separately, both mechanisms underscore a coordinated Western effort to sustain Ukraine’s fiscal position without compromising its reform trajectory.
Within the EU, the Facility enjoys broad political backing but is not without scrutiny. Member states with fiscal conservative leanings, such as the Netherlands and Austria, have insisted on rigorous conditionality to ensure taxpayer funds drive structural change rather than short-term relief. Conversely, frontline states like Poland and the Baltic countries advocate for accelerated disbursements, citing security imperatives.
The Council’s rotating presidency, currently held by Hungary until December 2025, had initially signaled potential reservations over Ukraine-related funding due to Budapest’s longstanding disputes with Kyiv over minority rights. However, diplomatic sources confirmed that technical compliance with the indicators left no legal basis for objection, and the decision was adopted without a vote under the written procedure.
Looking ahead, the sixth regular payment—potentially up to €2.5 billion—is slated for review in the first quarter of 2026, contingent on Ukraine meeting another 10 indicators, including the launch of a comprehensive judicial vetting process and the adoption of a new customs code aligned with the EU Customs Union.
Beyond financial aid, the Facility serves as a de facto pre-accession instrument. Successful implementation of the Ukraine Plan is expected to accelerate chapters in Ukraine’s EU membership negotiations, formally opened in June 2024. Commission officials note that reforms delivered under the Facility already cover substantial ground in clusters such as “Fundamentals” (judiciary, anti-corruption, public administration) and “Economic Criteria” (market economy functioning).
For Ukraine, the stakes extend far beyond euros and cents. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in a video address following the Council’s announcement, described the payment as “not just money—it is oxygen for our statehood.” He reiterated Kyiv’s commitment to the reform agenda, pledging to maintain momentum despite battlefield setbacks in Donetsk and Kursk oblasts.
As the war grinds toward a potential negotiation phase—signaled by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign pledges to broker a rapid settlement—the EU’s financial lifeline remains a critical anchor. By linking aid to governance upgrades, Brussels seeks to ensure that any future peace dividend is invested in a Ukraine that is stable, democratic, and irreversibly European.
With €25.31 billion still available under the Facility through 2027 (including the latest disbursement), the EU has signaled that its support is not open-ended but performance-driven. Tuesday’s €1.8 billion payment thus serves as both a reward for progress and a reminder of the long road ahead.
