Ukraine Support Loan sends €2.86bn more for drones and missiles

The Ukraine Support Loan delivered another €2.86 billion to Kyiv on Wednesday, as the EU funds drones, missiles and air defence ahead of winter.

The European Commission released the money from the defence strand of the €90 billion facility. Apart from drones and missiles, it will pay for radar, electronic warfare kit and munitions.

“As Russia stalls on the frontlines, it continues to escalate its aerial attacks,” said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. She added that Europe’s backing “matters more than ever.” According to von der Leyen, the transfer targets Kyiv’s most pressing needs on the battlefield, such as drones and missiles.

Kyiv welcomes Ukraine Support Loan funds

Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi described the aid as vital, given the growing Russian assault on cities and key infrastructure. In his words, extra drones and missiles mean better protection for civilians and troops alike.

He also said his government was pressing European partners to release the remaining defence money quickly. The latest transfer should arrive within weeks.

The payment came just after one of the biggest Russian attacks on Ukraine’s grid so far this autumn. Overnight on October 13-14, Russia launched around 39 missiles. Later, President Volodymyr Zelensky said the barrage had left 600,000 people without power.

How the money splits

EU institutions created the Ukraine Support Loan in February 2026. It offers as much as €90 billion across this year and next, with roughly two-thirds earmarked for defence and one-third for the state budget.

This year, Brussels intends to channel €28.3 billion into Ukraine’s arms industry. In total, €29.64 billion of EU aid remains open to Kyiv before the year ends.

Of that sum, €25.24 billion sits within the loan. That portion splits into €12.54 billion for weapons production and €12.7 billion for the budget. Another €4.4 billion remains in the older Ukraine Facility.

Budget money, however, comes with strings attached. Before any budget cash flows, Kyiv must satisfy the terms of the Ukraine Plan, along with a memorandum of understanding it has with Brussels.

Deadlines and wider support

Only a week before, on October 7, Ukraine collected €1.2 billion. According to Koretskyi, that pushed total receipts under the scheme close to €13 billion.

Last month, he cautioned that lawmakers could cost the country much of $29.5 billion in expected foreign funding by missing legislative deadlines.

In response, the cabinet pushed back the cut-off for 42 pending decisions to October 15, with budget strains expected to mount over the cold months.

Across all programmes, the bloc and its member governments have now given Ukraine €231.5 billion since 2022. Profits earned on frozen Russian assets supplied €3.8 billion of that amount.

Further defence payments under the Ukraine Support Loan will follow in the coming weeks, the Commission said. The defence strand also aims to rebuild and modernise Ukraine’s arms industry, bringing it gradually closer to Europe’s own.

EU ministers cleared the 2026 tranche on April 23. That decision followed Kyiv’s submission of a funding plan a month before.