The Council of the European Union (EU) has approved €3.2 billion ($3.7 billion) for Ukraine under the Ukraine Facility financial instrument, Ukraine’s Ministry of Finance and European Council reported on Friday.
The Ukraine Facility is the €50 billion ($58.3 billion) EU financial assistance programme for Ukraine, signed in February 2024 and planned for 2024-2027. The program is intended to support Ukraine’s recovery, reconstruction, and modernization.
The Ukraine Facility is a results-based financial package built on the “money for reforms” principle. Instead of simply disbursing funds, the EU ties payments to a set of reform benchmarks – specific actions policymakers must complete by designated deadlines.
This is the fourth regular disbursement of support under the EU’s Ukraine Facility, the European Council wrote in its press release. The funding aims to bolster Ukraine’s macro-financial stability and support the functioning of its public administration.
The €3.2 billion ($3.7 billion) tranche will be directed toward priority social and humanitarian expenditure of Ukraine’s state budget, Ukraine’s Finance Ministry wrote.
These types of EU disbursements fall under the program for the so-called Pillar I – the EU’s direct financial support provided to Ukraine. Two other parts of the program are aimed at private investments (Pillar II) and technical assistance with capacity building to help Ukraine align with the EU standards (Pillar III).
Ukraine’s Finance Ministry wrote that the EU has already disbursed €19.6 billion ($22.74 billion) to Ukraine’s state budget under the Ukraine Facility.
“In 2025 alone, financial support under the program is expected to total around €12.5 billion ($14.5 billion), with €3.5 billion ($4.06 billion) already received,” Ukraine Finance Ministry wrote.
Nicolò Gasparini, spokesperson for the EU Delegation to Ukraine, previously told Kyiv Post that Ukraine requested a decrease in the tranche of the next Ukraine Facility disbursement. “Indeed, on June 6, Ukraine requested a partial payment (€3 billion [$3.5 billion]) instead of €4.5 billion [$5.2 billion],” Gasparini wrote.
Another reason for the smaller tranche is some slippages in reforms.
Until 2025, Ukraine had met all reform indicators under the Ukraine Facility. However, in the first quarter of this year, three indicators remain unmet and another delayed. This could cost Ukraine about €1.5 billion ($1.7 billion) in EU aid, according to a report by RRR4U, a consortium of leading Ukrainian NGOs including the Institute for Economic Research (IER), Dixi Group, the Institute of Analytics and Advocacy, and the Centre for Economic Strategy (CES).
Ukraine should have received €4.5 billion ($5.2 billion) for the 16 required reforms, but Kyiv said it only fulfilled 13, Gasparini wrote.
Still, the Council wrote that it remains satisfied that Ukraine has adopted reforms in public administration, the management of public assets, human capital, decentralization and regional policy, green transition, the digital and agri-food sectors, and the management of critical raw materials.
The news was welcomed by Ukraine’s Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko.
“This is a clear signal of confidence in our reform path and in our ability to ensure stability even in the most difficult times,” the press release quoted Svyrydenko as saying.