The agreement came earlier than expected, overcoming previous opposition from Hungary's Viktor Orban.

All 27 EU leaders have agreed a €50bn (£42bn; $54bn) aid package for Ukraine, after Hungary stopped blocking the deal.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the new funding, saying it would strengthen the country’s economic and financial stability.

Ukraine’s economic ministry said it expects the first tranche in March.

There had been fears Hungary’s PM would again block the package as he did at a European summit in December.

Viktor Orban, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest ally in the EU, had said he wanted to force a rethink of the bloc’s policy towards Ukraine and questioned the idea of committing funds for Kyiv for the next four years.

The new funding promise comes as aid from the US - the largest provider of military support for Kyiv - is being held up by Congress.

“I think it will be an encouragement for the United States also to do their fair share,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

The agreement was announced less than two hours after the summit started, surprising many observers who had expected talks to go on much longer due to the depth of disagreement between Mr Orban and the other EU leaders.

On the streets of Kyiv, people welcomed the news. “It’s great. All this support, money, ammunition, humanitarian help are all important for our country, and we thank all the world for supporting us,” one man told the BBC.

However, this EU funding package is not for the frontline - it’s for life in the rear. War is an expensive endeavour, and budget revenue in Ukraine is being swallowed up funding the fighting.

  • LarmyOfLoneEnglish
    245·
    9 months ago

    There goes my retirement lol. Another massive wealth transfer to the super rich. It will all go to weapons, will go to banks when the Ukrainians have to pay it back, will go to big corporations when much of Ukraine becomes privatized. More austerity and more inflation for us.

    Basically Crimea is the most expensive real estate debacle ever that lead to the biggest wealth transfer. I think they call it disaster capitalism. Never waste a good crisis.

    • Pup Biru@aussie.zoneEnglish
      11·
      9 months ago

      afaik this is specifically not for weapons: it’s for helping to run the government

    • gmtom@lemmy.worldEnglish
      7·
      9 months ago

      This is the most braindead comment I’ve read in a while on here.

      1. This isn’t a lot of money for the EU.

      2. This will in no way shape or form affect your retirement.

      3. This is financial aid primarily for making sure Ukraine is able to continue to pay civil servants and other government employees, not for buying weapons.

      4. As above, this is to pay ordinary people, not the super richm

      5. I could be wrong on this one but I don’t think it’s expected to be paid back.

      • Pup Biru@aussie.zoneEnglish
        1·
        9 months ago

        totally agree on almost everything you said, but whilst we’re kinda “expecting it to be paid back”, we realised some time between the end of WW1 and the end of WW2 that expecting to be paid back for stuff like this tends to leave a country very very bitter and generally unable to pay back the money anyway (from what i understand)

        i think whilst it’ll be “on the books”, in the long run it’ll be a case of “you owe us one; make sure you vote to align with the west”

        and TBH, that’s good for everyone (not that the west is perfect, but it’s - in general - a heck of a lot better than the other alternatives)