Defense ministers of the European Union countries approve the allocation of a preferential loan for Ukraine in the amount of 90 billion euros, but believe that this is not enough. Many of them, arriving at the EU Defense Council meeting on Wednesday, February 11, openly warned: assistance from the entire European Union to Kyiv should not replace the bilateral military support that EU countries provide to it from their national budgets.
Just a few hours before the start of this meeting, the European Parliament approved the provision of a loan of 90 billion euros to Kyiv for 2026-2027. 30 billion of them will be directed to financial support for Ukraine, and 60 billion to military assistance, in particular for the purchase of weapons. In this case, the EU budget will be used as loan guarantees, as well as to cover interest and other debt servicing costs. According to the European Commission, they will amount to about 1 billion euros by 2027. Ukraine will have to repay the loan only if Russia pays it reparations.
Finland: All EU countries are obliged to fairly divide aid to Ukraine among themselves
Finnish Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen called the move a “turning point” in defending Ukraine against Russian aggression, but added: “This is not enough. EU member governments must also do their part.” He stressed that all EU countries are obliged to fairly share the burden of assistance to Ukraine among themselves, without shifting it only to Kyiv’s most loyal allies.
The funds allocated by the European Union should be transferred to Ukraine “in addition” to what the bloc countries give it individually, said the head of the German Defense Ministry, Boris Pistorius. “Ukraine this year alone needs 60 billion euros of foreign aid to meet its needs. Therefore, every billion is important, both from national and European budgets,” Pistorius said.
Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur also emphasized that “everyone” should contribute to supporting Ukraine. He recalled that in the next two years Kyiv will need about 120 billion euros annually, but so far its allies “have not even come close” to this level. Pevkur also believes that the EU loan cannot replace the military assistance that countries have so far allocated to Ukraine.
“This loan will complement all the enormous efforts of democratic countries to support Ukraine, but bilateral programs will be preserved,” assured Polish Deputy Defense Minister Pavel Zalewski.
Europe did not fully compensate for US aid
In 2025, after the cessation of US aid, Europe became the main donor to Ukraine, reported on the same day, February 11, the Institute of World Economics in Kiel (IfW), which conducted a study together with analysts of the Ukraine Support Tracker project.
But even despite the increase in Europe’s share in the total amount of aid to Ukraine, the United States failed to fully compensate for the lack of its support: the total amount of military aid provided to Kyiv was 13 percent below the average level of the previous three years. As for the total volume of financial and humanitarian assistance, the decrease was about 5 percent, which analysts regarded as insignificant.
“The United States will now be more focused on the Western Hemisphere and the Indo-Pacific region. And we were ready for this,” said Swedish Defense Minister Paul Johnson. “Now the Europeans are also expected to make more efforts in the field of security in Europe.”
The European Union also needs to attract private capital, in particular to increase defense production in Ukraine, said Kaya Kallas, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
Ukraine is moving to a “new defense model”
Increasing the production of drones and strengthening air defense are the main priorities of Kyiv, said Ukrainian Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov. It was his first time attending a meeting of the EU Defense Council, but he never spoke to the media.
Instead, Fedorov published several posts on social networks throughout the day about his meetings with representatives of the European Union. In them, he said that Ukraine was moving to a “new model of defense” – with an emphasis on affordable technologies, rapid innovation cycles and data-driven warfare, and expressed a willingness to share analytics and practical solutions obtained on the battlefield with partners. “Ukraine is fighting for its independence – and for the security of Europe,” the Ukrainian minister emphasized, calling cooperation with the EU the work of creating a new defense doctrine and forming a new generation army.
On February 12, Brussels will host a meeting of NATO defense ministers, as well as a meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Council, in which Mikhail Fedorov will participate.
date:2026-02-12 22:16:00
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