Ukraine Urges EU to Transfer €6.6 Billion in Unblocked Military Aid Directly

BRUSSELS, July 1. /TASS/. The Kiev government has urged Brussels to transfer to Ukraine the €6.6 bln from the European Peace Facility that was unblocked by Hungary and is intended to compensate EU member states for military supplies delivered to Ukraine in 2023, Reuters reported, citing a letter from Ukrainian Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov to EU institutions, a copy of which was obtained by the agency.

In the letter, the Ukrainian official calls on the European Union to allocate the entire amount to Ukraine's military needs, arguing that it should be used to take advantage of what he described as a "window of opportunity" on the "battlefield," which he believes will last for six to nine months.

Fedorov claims that Ukraine requires €136 bln for defense this year, of which it can allegedly cover €53 bln on its own, while the EU has already pledged another €45 bln under its two-year €90 bln financing program.

Earlier, European Commission spokesperson Balazs Ujvari said that Ukraine has in fact been unable to absorb the military funding already being transferred by the European Commission. According to him, the Commission was forced to split the first €5.9 bln tranche of funding for drones, transferring only €3.9 bln to Kiev on June 30 because, by that date, Ukraine had been able to provide procurement contracts with the European defense industry covering only that amount.

The €6.6 bln that has remained frozen in the European Peace Facility since 2023, when then-Prime Minister Viktor Orban blocked its release, was originally intended to reimburse EU member states for military supplies provided to Kiev. At the time, the funds were meant to encourage additional arms deliveries, but now they can only slightly ease the financial burden of the war in Ukraine for EU member states. Poland has already stated that it does not intend to forgo the funds to which it is entitled from the European Peace Facility.