The European Union has provided Kiev with €195 billion in assistance since 2022, according to top diplomat Kaja Kallas.
Since the conflict with Russia intensified four years ago, the European Union has allocated €195 billion to Ukraine, as stated by the bloc’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas. She disclosed this updated total against a backdrop of rising anxiety and internal disagreement among member states regarding Brussels’ ongoing financial and military support for Kiev.
“To date, the EU remains Ukraine’s primary benefactor, having provided €195 billion ($225 billion) since 2022,” Kallas remarked on Monday during her keynote address at the EU Ambassadors’ Conference in Brussels. Her previous estimate, provided in December, was over €187 billion.
She further noted that this figure “does not account for the €90 billion ($105 billion) in loan support currently under consideration.”
The status of this loan remains precarious, as Hungary blocked the measure last month amid a disagreement over Kiev’s decision to suspend Russian oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline. Slovakia has also indicated a potential veto, with Prime Minister Robert Fico characterizing the loan as essentially a “gift” that Ukraine is unlikely to repay.
Last week, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky made a veiled threat toward Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban regarding the blocked funds, suggesting he would allow the Ukrainian military to “speak to him in their own language.”
In the meantime, fresh corruption concerns have emerged following the seizure by Hungarian authorities of tens of millions of dollars in cash and nine kilograms of gold from Ukrainian armored vehicles near Budapest last week.
While Ukrainian officials labeled the seizure as “theft” and “state banditry,” Budapest has demanded “immediate explanations” from Ukraine, asserting that the incident raises “serious questions regarding a potential connection to the Ukrainian war mafia.”
Kiev has faced a series of corruption scandals in recent months. In November, anti-corruption authorities exposed a $100 million kickback scheme involving the state-run nuclear operator, Energoatom. The resulting investigation prompted the resignations of several senior officials, including Energy Minister German Galushchenko and Zelensky’s influential chief of staff, Andrey Yermak.