The European Union has released €3.47 billion ($4 billion) to Ukraine to help finance the purchase of drones, missiles, air defence systems and Swedish-made Gripen fighter jets, the European Commission has announced.
The payment forms part of the €90 billion ($103 billion) Ukraine Support Loan approved by the bloc earlier this year. The loan is part of a wider package allocating roughly €60 billion to defence procurement and €30 billion to direct budget support for Kyiv.
It follows two earlier payments: a €3.2 billion ($3.67 billion) instalment on 25 June to support Ukraine's general government financing, and €3.9 billion ($4.48 billion) transferred on 30 June specifically for drone procurement.
A European Commission spokesperson told reporters that a further €1.1 billion ($1.26 billion) has been allocated to other defence procurement, bringing total disbursements for defence purposes to €8.5 billion ($9.75 billion) so far. The Commission expects to transfer €28 billion ($32.13 billion) for defence by the end of the year.
The latest payments come amid a broader push to deepen EU-Ukraine defence-industrial ties.
In mid-July, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen travelled to Kyiv, where she and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a new EU-Ukraine Defence Industrial Partnership alongside a dedicated 'Drone Deal', aimed at integrating Ukrainian battlefield expertise with European industrial capacity.
The visit also included a separate €1 billion ($1.15 billion) disbursement for drone capabilities. Since then, further funding tranches have been unlocked under the same €90 billion ($103 billion) loan and the EU's SAFE defence loans programme, covering additional drone systems, deep-strike missiles and the acquisition of Gripen fighter jets.
The €90 billion ($103 billion) loan was politically stalled in early 2026 because of a Hungarian veto before securing the backing of member states later in the year, clearing the way for the accelerated pace of disbursements now under way.
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