For an infantryman near Pokrovsk or a drone operator in the Zaporizhzhia direction, the figure "3.47 billion euros" sounds abstract. But behind it lie concrete things: fighter jets, air defense systems, missiles and drones, which will now reach military units faster. On Thursday, July 30, Prime Minister Serhiy Koretskyi announced that these funds have already been received by Ukraine from the European Union.
This is the second tranche under the Ukraine Support Loan — a tool that the European Commission directly ties to "priority defense needs," including strengthening the defense-industrial complex and urgent supplies for the front. According to clarification from the European Commission, the money will go specifically to drones, missiles, air defense systems and fighter jets — that is, to what determines how many missiles and "Shaheds" will be shot down over Ukrainian cities this winter.
Why this is not just "another aid package"
The Ukraine Support Loan is part of a broader two-year support framework for 2026–2027 with a total volume of up to 90 billion euros. This is already substantial, predictable money: in 2026, Ukraine should have access to up to 45 billion euros, of which 28.3 billion euros is specifically for defense. For the army, this means weapons purchases can be planned in advance, rather than patching budget holes from tranche to tranche.
Since early summer, the mechanism has already demonstrated that it works: on June 25, the first budget support tranche of 3.2 billion euros arrived, and Ukraine received the first part of the defense tranche in two payments — 3.9 billion and 1.1 billion euros. Together with the new 3.47 billion euros, the total amount raised through this instrument reached 11.7 billion euros — this is almost one-third of the promised 45 billion for 2026, received already now.
Fair frame: this is a loan, not a gift
The name "Ukraine Support Loan" is not accidental — this is a credit, and sooner or later it will have to be serviced. Hungary blocked the 90 billion euro mechanism for a long time, and only on April 23 did the European Union finally approve it. Politically, the arrangement is beneficial to all: Kyiv receives predictable financing two years in advance, and Brussels gets a tool that does not depend on quarterly agreements with Budapest. But financially, it means a new debt burden on the Ukrainian economy, which is added to already existing obligations to the IMF and other creditors.
For an ordinary Ukrainian, this is the difference between "we were given weapons" and "we borrowed weapons on credit, payment later." President Volodymyr Zelenskyy explained that the funds go not only to purchasing weapons from partners, but also to domestic weapons production and preparing energy and critical infrastructure for winter — that is, to things that directly affect whether there will be electricity in homes during massive bombardments.
- In 2026–2027, Ukraine will receive up to 45 billion euros annually: 16.7 billion for budget support and 28.3 billion for defense.
- The total volume of the instrument is up to 90 billion euros for a two-year period.
- The scheme became possible only after Hungary's veto was lifted in April.
The question that remains unanswered: whether these loans will be covered by frozen Russian assets, as discussed in Brussels, or whether the debt will fall directly on Ukrainian taxpayers after the war. What decision the EU makes in the coming months will determine how much it will actually cost Ukraine for each "Shahed" shot down over Kyiv.
