The European Union completed this Thursday, April 23, the process to grant a loan to Ukraine for 90 billion euros, after the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, lifted the veto after being defeated at the polls. The capital, intended for the defense of the country invaded by Russia, will come from a common debt, pending what happens with Moscow's frozen funds, which total 210 billion euros. This is how the millionaire disbursement to kyiv will work.
First modification: 04/22/2026 - 17:39 Last modification: 04/23/2026 - 21:27
The fall of the Hungarian leader, Viktor Orbán, defeated at the polls on April 12 after 16 years in power, begins to change the rules of the global geopolitical board.
"Promised, fulfilled, implemented"
The countries of the European Union (EU) definitively approved this Thursday, April 23, the internal procedure to provide a loan of 90 billion euros to Ukraine and validate the twentieth package of sanctions against Russia for the invasion of its neighboring country. Brussels seals the credit after the approval given by the 27 countries a day before and after the Hungarian Government, still led by Viktor Orbán, lifted its veto on both issues.
"Promised, fulfilled, implemented. The EU strategy to achieve a just and lasting peace in Ukraine is based on two pillars: strengthening Ukraine and increasing pressure on Russia," the president of the European Council, Antonio Costa, indicated this Thursday on social networks.
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The EU will thus materialize a decision from December 2025, when community leaders agreed to request a joint loan to finance the defense and operation of Ukraine during 2026 and 2027, using frozen Russian funds as possible guarantee, in an attempt to pressure the Kremlin to pay for the ravages of the war.
After confirming the loan, in the last few hours, the European Commission indicated that it plans to make a first payment of 3.2 billion of the credit to kyiv this quarter.
The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, called for "acting urgently to get these funds where they are needed most. Ukraine needs this support on the ground now."
"Together with the 20th sanctions package, this decision is important to defend European security and to achieve a just and lasting peace," Metsola added.
Read alsoThe EU meets in Cyprus with Zelensky to seal the largest loan to Ukraine in the midst of the energy crisis
Where will the money come from?
The EU does not expect that the money from the loan to Ukraine will be repaid by that country, as it aspires for the capital to return once Russia pays war reparations after the end of the invasion launched by the Kremlin in February 2022.
Should Moscow oppose this scenario, it will have to think about its central bank's €210 billion assets frozen in the EU, which could be used for repayment.
The plan was designed to effectively use frozen Russian funds to help Ukraine without confiscating the money, a move that had been rejected by some members of the Twenty-Seven as legally risky.
The main objector regarding the use of frozen Russian funds was Belgium, the country where the majority of that capital is located: 185 billion euros of the total.
Belgian authorities initially refused out of fear of facing legal problems, as threatened by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Pending what happens to Russian frozen assets after the end of the conflict, Europe will provide kyiv with interest-free loans for the years 2026-2027, based on EU borrowing in capital markets. That is, the EU will go into debt and then lend that money to Ukraine.
This amount is supported by the EU budget margin, which is the difference between the maximum amount that the EU can request from Member States and the amount it needs to cover planned expenditure.
Read alsoUse Russian assets and raise debt: Von der Leyen's proposals to "strengthen" Ukraine
Where do the funds go?
Ukraine estimates that it will need 135 billion euros to guarantee the country's sustainability over the next two years. This means that the 90 billion loan ensures kyiv covers two-thirds of its needs.
Volodymyr Zelensky's Government will receive the capital in two transfers for 45 billion euros, the first in 2026 and the next one year later.
Of the annual budget, 28 billion euros will be allocated to military expenses, while 17 billion will go to general budget needs.
Brussels has called on other developed countries that sympathize with Ukraine to provide the rest of the financing, which has already been promised for 2026.
Donald Trump's return to the White House has dealt a serious blow to Ukrainian defense funding. The Republican cut up to 99% of the budget for kyiv, according to a report by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, published in February 2026.
Read alsoUkraine: Macron assures that the 90 billion euro loan from the EU will be fulfilled
Spokes in the wheel
The loan of money to kyiv was far from a clear consensus among the members of the European Union.
The idea of joint borrowing from the community budget initially seemed unviable, as it required unanimity and faced opposition from Viktor Orbán.
During the course of the negotiations, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, whose governments are considered closer to Moscow, obtained exemptions from participating in the joint borrowing.
However, it was not enough. Hungary later blocked the loan after stopping receiving Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline, which runs through Ukrainian territory, despite kyiv's assurances that the pipeline was shut down as a result of damage caused by a Russian attack.
Prospects for unlocking the loan improved when Orbán lost the election on April 12 and incoming Prime Minister Peter Magyar declared he would not oppose the disbursements.
Additionally, the Ukrainians repaired the Druzhba pipeline and oil is about to start flowing.
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Even so, the lifting of the Hungarian veto was an uncertainty this Tuesday. A Ukrainian drone attack against a Russian oil transport infrastructure linked to the Druzhba pipeline raised alarms in the EU about a possible reaction from Budapest.
"I am not going to give you an answer about whether the oil will flow now, because I am not an expert. What I can say is that Ukraine made the promise (to repair that road), which was the obstacle for our Hungarian and Slovak colleagues. This is the promise, not to derail the decision, but to move forward," said the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security, Kaja Kallas, on Tuesday.
One day later: white smoke. The European Union once again deals a blow to the Kremlin and reaches out to Ukraine from the diplomatic level. Regardless of whether it is a healthy or harmful decision for the EU's finances, the bloc seems to have recovered a fragment of unanimity, now without the strong dissidence of Viktor Orbán.
Read alsoThe EU fails to convince Hungarian leader Orbán about a multi-million dollar loan for Ukraine
With Reuters and EFE
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