The European Union and the United Kingdom have signed a contractual agreement ending negotiations on UK participation in the EU’s €90 billion Ukraine Support Loan.
The arrangement allows Ukraine to procure from a wider pool of defence manufacturers under the loan, including companies based in the UK, according to the EU and the UK statement issued on Monday night.
The UK will make what they described as a “fair and proportionate” contribution to the borrowing costs, linked to the value of contracts awarded to UK firms.
The loan is intended to provide Ukraine with what the EU and the UK called predictable financial support over the next two years for budget support and defence spending.
Budget support refers to money used to help cover day-to-day government spending.
A total of €7.1 billion was disbursed in June — including €3.2 billion for Ukraine’s budget and nearly €3.9 billion for defence — and a further defence disbursement is expected this week.
Defence procurement and European security
The EU and the UK said they see the agreement as a demonstration of shared support for Ukraine and a sign of close links between their defence industrial bases.
They also declared that they would continue working with international partners to strengthen Ukraine’s resilience and support its economy, repeating their commitment to support Ukraine “as long as it takes” in response to what they described as Russia’s illegal war of aggression.
