The European Union did not support Ukraine’s request for early disbursement of additional funding in 2026 and emphasized that the allocation of funds will depend directly on Kyiv’s implementation of agreed-upon reforms, according to the Financial Times, citing a letter from European Commissioners Valdis Dombrovskis and Marta Kos to Verkhovna Rada Chairman Ruslan Stefanchuk.
This summer, Ukraine estimated its additional defense needs at approximately $27 billion and approached the European Commission with a proposal to advance a portion of the funds from the two-year €90 billion Ukraine Support Loan program (€60 billion earmarked for defense, €30 billion for direct budget support). According to the program’s terms, up to €45 billion is to be made available to Ukraine in 2026, with the remaining €45 billion to follow in 2027.
According to the FT, European Commissioners have made it clear that access to funding is contingent upon fulfilling an agreed-upon list of commitments. Specifically, this involves the elimination of VAT exemptions for small international parcels, the introduction of taxation rules for digital platforms, and proper financial monitoring of politically exposed persons (PEPs)—changes to which have raised concerns in Brussels as a deviation from the anti-corruption agenda. According to the publication’s assessment, meeting these requirements will pave the way for Kyiv to receive approximately 34 billion euros in support as early as 2026.
At the same time, the European Commission emphasized that the rejection of the request for an early advance payment does not mean a curtailment of financial assistance. On October 1, the parties announced that they had agreed on sources of funding for budgetary and defense needs through the end of 2026, noting that there is no unfunded financial gap for the current year.
In addition, on October 2, the European Commission transferred another tranche of 2.9 billion euros to Ukraine as part of the Ukraine Facility program. The total amount of aid to Kyiv from the EU and its member states since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion has reached 227.4 billion euros.
The Ministry of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine reports that the October phase of the “Veterans’ Sports” program will not take place, and the ministry is working to resume it in 2027.
“Ukraine continues to live under conditions of full-scale war and a difficult economic situation. National defense remains the top priority for government spending. Under these circumstances, the state budget’s capacity to fund other areas is limited. At the same time, demand for the ‘Veterans’ Sports’ program has turned out to be significantly higher than expected,” the ministry’s statement reads.
It is noted that in 2026, 600 million hryvnias were initially allocated for the program—based on an estimate of 100,000 recipients per quarter. Accordingly, approximately 300,000 applications were expected over three quarters; however, the program was utilized more than 800,000 times.
Due to this demand, additional funds were allocated to the program throughout the year, and in total, payments exceeding 1.2 billion hryvnias were made in 2026—more than double the initial projection.
“Thus, the program has already covered as many participants as this year’s budget allows. All allocated funds were used for payments, including those returned from previous periods. Since the available financial resources have been exhausted, additional funding is required to carry out the October phase. However, at this time, there is no possibility of allocating funds for this from the state budget. Therefore, unfortunately, a new application phase will not open in the “Diya” app in October, and payments of 1,500 hryvnias will not be made as part of this phase,” the ministry stated.
At the same time, the Ministry of Veterans Affairs states that it is working to transition the program from a pilot format to a permanent one by 2027.
As previously reported, on January 3, 2025, the Cabinet of Ministers approved a pilot project to introduce quarterly assistance in the amount of 1,500 UAH for sports activities for combatants and individuals with war-related disabilities. Combatants could apply for these funds quarterly through the “Diya” app.
FUNDING, Ministry of Veterans Affairs, SPORTS, UKRAINE, ветеран
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense estimates that defense spending will rise to $175 billion in 2027 from $155 billion in 2026; the government’s draft state budget currently allocates $100 billion, First Deputy Minister of Finance Roman Yermolichev said during a budget discussion organized by the Center for Economic Strategy that week.
“There is a need for $70 billion. And here, various instruments must be utilized, including cooperation with international partners, not only to attract funding but also to use various instruments that have been in place for the past four years: ‘Ramstein,’ PURL, and all other mechanisms related to the procurement of military equipment,” the First Deputy Minister noted.
He emphasized that when planning defense expenditures in the 2027 draft state budget, the Ministry of Finance significantly changed its approach compared to previous years, when initial allocations were set below actual needs.
“We have now changed this situation and increased funding for the defense sector immediately: funding has been increased by 518 billion hryvnia—that is, from 4.4 trillion to 4.9 trillion hryvnia next year,” said Yermolichev.
The First Deputy Minister explained that the 2026 state budget does not currently include an additional 300 billion hryvnias for the payment of military pay—which was increased as of July 1—and defense-related social benefits, which will be financed from domestic sources, but this 300 billion UAH has already been included in the 518 billion UAH increase in defense spending in the draft 2027 state budget.
At the same time, he clarified that the calculations were made without taking into account the factor of an increase in military personnel, which is difficult to predict.
“Therefore, we hope that by the beginning of the year, we will be in a more or less stable position. Additionally, we have increased the allocation to the Reserve Fund under the Ministry of Finance: this year, we allocated approximately 140 billion hryvnias from the General Fund, whereas for next year, we have already allocated 200 billion hryvnias from the General Fund,” Yermolichev concluded.
As previously reported, the funding shortfall for the Ministry of Defense’s stated $155 billion war requirement for 2026 was, until recently, estimated at $27 billion, but Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky and the Ministry of Finance stated that $7 billion—or about 300 billion hryvnias—of this amount has been secured through domestic resources, specifically the Ministry of Finance’s Reserve Fund.
As for next year, according to the agency “Interfax-Ukraine,” out of the $70–75 billion in war-related expenditures not covered by the state budget, sources of funding have been identified for approximately $20 billion, while the remainder still needs to be secured.
DEFENSE, FUNDING, Ministry of Defense, STATE BUDGET, UKRAINE
To help Ukraine repair and strengthen its energy infrastructure ahead of another winter under attack from Russia, Canada has announced new support.
The announcements were made during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to Canada and his meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney
According to the website of the Office of the Prime Minister of Canada, the Canadian government will provide the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development with new loan guarantees totaling nearly 435 million Canadian dollars to support energy security, including the purchase of natural gas during the winter and backup generators for electricity production during shortages.
Canada is allocating 200 million Canadian dollars in concessional loans through Export Development Canada to support Ukraine’s reconstruction. As emphasized by the Prime Minister’s Office, this will help Ukraine repair critical infrastructure while providing Canadian companies with the opportunity to support critical projects.
The support package includes an additional 10 million Canadian dollars for the Ukraine Energy Support Fund, bringing the total to $100 million, to support Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, including the procurement and delivery of critical energy equipment to enhance Ukrainians’ resilience to energy disruptions.
In addition, Canada announced a contribution of 2 million Canadian dollars to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Joint Work Program to support the development of Ukraine’s energy resources. This funding will strengthen Ukraine’s energy resilience, provide regulatory support, and promote clean energy projects.
The Norwegian government will propose to the Storting (parliament) to extend emergency aid to Ukraine in the amount of 85 billion Norwegian kroner (approximately $9.1 billion) into 2027 as well, the government’s press service reported.
“Norway will continue to support Ukraine’s defense efforts. Ukraine is facing a difficult winter. We are now sending a clear signal that Norway will continue to support Ukraine, both through civilian and military aid,” said Prime Minister Jonas Gar Støre.
As noted, the government’s proposal was conveyed to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting between Stere and Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Sunday.
The Norwegian prime minister noted that supporting and rebuilding Ukraine is also important for European security. Norwegian support is provided through the Nansen Program for Ukraine and is directed toward both civilian and military purposes.
“The bulk of the funds will go toward military support, specifically purchases from the Ukrainian defense industry. The government will revisit the distinction between military and civilian services at a later date,” the press release states.
The Nansen Program for Ukraine is Norway’s long-term government program to support Ukraine, launched in February 2023 with broad cross-party support from the Norwegian parliament—the Storting. It initially allocated 75 billion NOK for 2023–2027, but the program was subsequently expanded and extended through 2030.
Ukraine has received $3.35 billion as part of the First Labor Market Development and Private Sector Growth Program, implemented jointly with the World Bank; the funds have already been transferred to the state budget and will be used to support macrofinancial stability and finance priority expenditures under martial law, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko announced.
According to her, the funds were the result of agreements signed by Ukraine and the World Bank on June 24 as part of the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC 2026).
“This funding was made possible by a large-scale reform package. To fulfill the program’s conditions, the government and the Verkhovna Rada adopted 13 laws and 7 subordinate regulatory acts,” Svyrydenko stated in a post published on Facebook.
The reforms covered a number of areas, including improving the public procurement system, developing factoring, integrating energy markets with the European Union, transforming the agricultural sector, supporting veteran entrepreneurship, developing housing policy, modernizing preschool and vocational education, and restoring the system for monitoring greenhouse gas emissions.
“The next phase of the program provides for the allocation of an additional $1 billion by the end of 2026, subject to the fulfillment of certain conditions,” the prime minister noted.
She also reported that part of the funding under the program is backed by guarantees from the governments of the United Kingdom and Japan.
Source: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18v8tuSZnE/?mibextid=wwXIfr
