The EU rejected the possibility of providing the loan to Kyiv ahead of schedule and is demanding reforms, media report
Kyiv • UNN
The EU has refused to provide Ukraine with part of the loan ahead of schedule due to doubts about the deficit assessment and demands for reforms.
The European Union has currently rejected Ukraine’s request to accelerate the disbursement of loan funds to cover an unforeseen deficit in financing military needs for the current year. Bloomberg reports this, citing people familiar with the situation, according to UNN.
The publication notes that the decision followed Kyiv’s unexpected announcement in the summer of an additional funding shortfall of €27 billion ($30.4 billion) due to rising war-related expenditures.
Ukraine appealed to Brussels to accelerate the provision of a €90 billion loan intended to meet the country’s needs through the end of 2027.
The EU has become Kyiv’s largest donor since Donald Trump returned to the White House last year, playing a key role in supporting Ukraine ahead of the fifth winter of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
During a tense meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in New York last month, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the EU still had €37 billion available for budget support in 2026. However, she linked this to Kyiv’s progress in implementing key reforms aimed at combating the shadow economy, increasing tax revenues, and bringing legislation closer to EU standards—processes that are currently being stalled in parliament.
"We have identified resources to cover Ukraine’s budgetary and defense needs for 2026," the European Commission and Ukraine said in a joint statement released on Thursday. "We also confirmed the steps necessary to ensure the timely provision of these funds," the parties said, signaling that the EU continues to insist on progress in reforms.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive body, declined to comment further.
According to people who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the confidential nature of the negotiations, the EU questioned some of the figures provided by Ukraine and said that disbursing the loan funds early would only create a new problem for 2027.
It was also suggested that additional funding should be provided by other partners, including Canada, Norway, and Japan. The EU loan was intended to cover only two-thirds of Ukraine’s needs, with the remainder to be provided by partners. According to the statement, €45 billion of the loan earmarked for 2027 will be disbursed "promptly," but not before the beginning of next year; at the same time, work will begin on "identifying additional budgetary and defense needs."
Separately, on Thursday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on the social media platform X that Ukraine and its partners would henceforth "coordinate this work and align their actions every month, ensuring continuous coordination."
This week, the International Monetary Fund estimated that Kyiv would face a funding shortfall of between $30 billion and $35 billion next year, while in 2028 and 2029 the figure would be $17 billion and $2 billion, respectively (according to people familiar with the situation). These figures may change.
IMF spokesperson Julie Kozack said on Thursday that the Washington-based Fund was holding active discussions with Ukraine and international partners regarding the potential size of the financing shortfall.
She said the IMF was working with Kyiv to combine the second and third reviews of the $8.1 billion financing program and planned to submit them to the Executive Board by December. Implementation of this plan depends on "obtaining sufficient and credible financing assurances" to cover the shortfall, Kozack said.