site.btaUPDATED EU Support for Ukraine to Hit New High This Year, EUR 25 Bln Provided to Date - EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs

In 2025 alone, the European Union will provide its largest support package to Ukraine so far, with EUR 25 billion already made available to date, EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas said Tuesday in an address to the European Parliament.

“International efforts to end Russia’s war have stepped up in the last few months, but Russia’s response has been more aggression. […] Putin has zero interest in peace and will not stop the war unless he is forced to, and this is why the European Union and our Member States have provided almost EUR 169 billion of financial support since the full-scale war started in 2022,” she said.

This includes over EUR 63 billion in military support for Ukraine. This year alone, member states will provide more than ever before, EUR 25 billion to date, Kallas noted. 

“They have now also provided 80% of our 2 million rounds ammunition target. We aim 100% by October. And this is all so that Ukraine can defend itself and protect its citizens, and push back the aggression.”

She also recalled that the EU has imposed 18 packages of sanctions on Russia and those who enable Russia’s war against Ukraine, four in the last nine months alone. “International sanctions have already deprived Russia of at least USD 450 billion in war funds, including USD 154 billion in revenues from oil,” the High Commissioner said.

Kaja Kallas stated that Europe, once one of the largest markets for Russian energy, no longer plays that role. She expressed hope that by 2027, the EU would completely stop importing Russian gas.

She emphasized that increasing pressure on Russia means imposing further sanctions and continuing efforts to address the circumvention of existing measures.

She said that the EU’s message to Russia is clear: the war cannot be won militarily. Instead, Russia should withdraw from the battlefield and engage in negotiations with Ukraine. She stressed that once this happens, Russia must not be allowed to rearm and launch new attacks, noting that this has happened before and that Putin has not hidden his broader ambitions beyond Ukraine.

Kallas also highlighted that the European Union has already trained nearly 80,000 Ukrainian soldiers, arguing that a strong Ukrainian army is the best guarantee of security.

She noted that the EU will continue to support Ukraine's internal security and resilience through its civilian mission. This support has already included assistance to the Ukrainian police and efforts to strengthen the rule of law in the country. Further steps will involve boosting Ukraine’s defense industry, including helping the country manufacture more military equipment within the EU.

She described Ukraine’s path to EU membership as a source of hope for the Ukrainian people—the hope of living in freedom and prosperity once again.

In her view, it is time to begin negotiations under the first cluster of accession talks. Once the war ends, she said, Ukraine will recover, and Russia will have to pay for the damage it has caused. Russia has not broken Ukraine’s determination, she added, and must not be allowed to break Europe’s. For those who have doubts, she warned against hesitation, stressing that Ukraine’s security is Europe’s security, and as long as Russia continues its illegal war, support must continue.