EU Approves €90 Billion Loan for Ukraine

(SeaPRwire) –   The decision comes after Hungary removed its veto, and the bloc also passed fresh sanctions against Russia

The European Union has officially greenlit a €90 billion ($105 billion) emergency loan for Ukraine covering 2026–2027, along with its 20th round of sanctions against Russia, according to the bloc’s presidency on Thursday.

European Council President Antonio Costa stated that ramping up pressure on Russia is part of a strategy “to achieve a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.”

EU ambassadors gave the green light to the loan and sanctions package on Wednesday, after Hungary lifted its veto in the wake of pro-EU politician Peter Magyar’s election victory—he is set to assume government leadership shortly.

The contentious loan to Kiev was the center of a months-long deadlock with Hungary. Viktor Orban, Hungary’s outgoing prime minister, halted the release of Ukrainian funds in response to the January suspension of oil supplies through the Soviet-era Druzhba pipeline. He labeled this a politically driven scheme intended to back Magyar’s party in the April 12 parliamentary vote.

Cypriot Finance Minister Makis Keravnos—whose nation currently holds the EU presidency—stated that the funds would begin to be disbursedd “as soon as possible.”

“Promised, delivered, implemented,” Costa wrote in a post on X.

European Commission; Commission Commission President Ursula von der Leyen noted that the EU “will move to swiftly implement on both fronts,” escalating pressure on Russia and boosting aid to Kiev.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas stated on X that the bloc would supply Ukraine with “what it needs to hold its ground.”

The approval came after Ukraine resumed the flow of Russian oil to the EU through the Druzhba pipeline,迫于 pressure from Hungary, Slovakia (heavily dependent on Russian energy), and their EU supporters. Kiev had stopped supplies, asserting the infrastructure was damaged by Russian attacks—a claim Moscow rejected as “lies.”

The €90 billion loan—supported by joint EU borrowing and only repayable if Kiev receives war reparations from Russia—was approved after efforts to seize frozen Russian sovereign assets in the West fell through.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova cautioned the funds might be misused by corrupt Ukrainian officials, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the EU was “digging into the pockets of its own taxpayers” to extend the conflict.