EU to Begin Allocating Frozen Kremlin Billions to Ukraine: When the First Tranche Will Arrive

Ukraine is expected to receive the first tranche of macro-financial assistance backed by frozen Russian assets from the European Union (EU) by April. The program will last two years and cover the majority of the budget deficit.

According to Ukrinform, European Commission spokesperson Maciej Berestecki said at a briefing in Brussels, as reported by OBOZ.UA. “We are, of course, aware of Ukraine’s urgent financial needs and, as explained before Christmas, we plan to release the first tranche to Ukraine no later than the second quarter of 2026,” Berestecki assured.

The spokesperson also reminded that the European Council agreed to provide Ukraine with a €90 billion loan under the enhanced cooperation principle. However, the decision must be approved by the European Parliament, with the matter expected to be discussed in the coming weeks.

The European Commission is currently working on a proposal for a regulation that will set the conditions for Ukraine to receive the tranches. The Commission plans to adopt this proposal in January, after which it will also be submitted to lawmakers for approval.

Maciej Berestecki reminded that the European Council agreed to amend the multiannual financial framework regulation so that the EU could provide a loan to a third country. The Commission’s proposal is also expected to be adopted in January, the spokesperson said.

What led up to this

At the European Council summit held on December 18–19, a decision was made to provide Ukraine with €90 billion in macro-financial assistance. However, three of the 27 EU countries – Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic – opposed further funding for Ukraine, so EU leaders invoked Article 20 of the EU Treaty regarding the enhanced cooperation mechanism.

This allowed them to use EU budget resources as guarantees for the loan. In other words, the loan was issued by 24 EU countries, not the EU as a whole, but the debt will be backed by the EU budget, meaning the borrowed funds will be covered by the EU rather than the individual countries.

Formally, therefore, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia are not participating in providing the loan. EU leaders also agreed on the possibility of seizing Russian assets if the Kremlin refuses to pay reparations to Ukraine.

As reported by OBOZ.UA, on December 22 Ukraine received a new tranche of direct budgetary aid from the EU totaling about €2.3 billion. This is part of the Ukraine Facility program: of the amount received, €2.1 billion is a loan, and €200 million is a grant that does not need to be repaid. The funds will be used to cover the state’s priority social and humanitarian expenses.