EU approves UK participation in €90 billion Ukraine support scheme

EU member states have approved the United Kingdom’s participation in the bloc’s €90 billion support loan initiative for Ukraine, paving the way for British defence companies to receive contracts for weapons production for Kyiv under the program.

The agreement allows the UK to join the EU initiative aimed at addressing Ukraine’s urgent defence needs in 2026–2027, the Council of the European Union announced on July 22.

“Today’s approval reflects the EU and the UK’s shared commitment to support Ukraine as long as it takes to bring Russia's illegal war of aggression to an end and secure a comprehensive, just and lasting peace,” the Council said in a press statement.

The agreement between the EU and the UK was initially signed on July 13 before being approved by the bloc’s member states.

The European Commission previously stated that for British defence companies to receive military contracts from Ukraine under the initiative, the UK government must use its own budget resources to cover part of the contract costs.

According to the EU Council, the UK qualifies to participate in the defence program as it meets the three requirements for third-country involvement: providing “a fair and proportionate financial contribution to the costs arising from borrowing, has entered into a security and defence partnership with the Union, and is already providing significant financial and military support to Ukraine.”

Under the mechanism, Kyiv must submit all arms supply contracts it intends to finance through each tranche of assistance to the European Commission for approval. The next portion of funding is released only after the contracts have been reviewed and verified.

So far, the European Commission has allocated two tranches to Ukraine under the loan program, totalling €4.9 billion.

By Nazrin Sadigova