Ukraine requests €69 billion in additional financing for 2027 from international partners
Ukraine has asked international partners for approximately €69 billion in additional financing for 2027, according to Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko. The request follows a September 29 meeting in Brussels with EU, G7, Norway, South Korea and IMF representatives and highlights a gap left by the already-approved €90 billion EU loan for 2026-2027. EU member states have not yet agreed on how to meet the new ask.
Key points
- Ukraine needs approximately €69 billion in additional financing for 2027, per Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko
- Of that sum, about €40 billion would cover military expenditures and €29 billion state operations
- A September 29 meeting in Brussels brought together Ukraine, the EU, G7, Norway, South Korea and the IMF
- The EU has already approved a €90 billion loan for 2026-2027 (≈€60 billion defense, €30 billion budget support), covering roughly two-thirds of needs
- EU states are pushing to shrink the bloc's 2028-2034 long-term budget, complicating new commitments
- About €210 billion in frozen Russian sovereign assets sit in Europe (≈€180 billion at Belgium's Euroclear); no legal model for their use has been agreed
- Further funding may be discussed at the October 9 EU finance ministers' meeting or a mid-October European Council summit
Why it matters
The €69 billion request signals a financing shortfall well beyond the €90 billion loan the EU has already approved, forcing an uncomfortable debate among member states about who fills the gap. A European diplomat's "watering the desert" remark captures growing fatigue inside the EU about the open-ended scale of support, while the question of directing frozen Russian sovereign assets toward Ukraine remains unresolved. Upcoming elections in France, Spain, Poland and Italy add political weight against new commitments, and the bloc's draft 2028-2034 budget will be a key venue for the longer-term answer.
What happened
At a September 29 meeting at European Commission headquarters in Brussels, representatives of Ukraine, the EU, G7 countries, Norway, South Korea and the IMF reviewed Kyiv's financial needs for 2027. Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko set out the request: roughly €69 billion in additional financing, of which about €40 billion is for defense and €29 billion for state operations. The EU has already approved a €90 billion loan for 2026-2027 — about €60 billion for defense and €30 billion for budget support — which the European Commission says covers roughly two-thirds of Ukraine's needs. EU member states have not yet agreed on a mechanism to cover the remaining gap. Additional funding could come up at an October 9 meeting of EU finance ministers or at a European Council summit in mid-October. Ukraine is separately pushing for a legal mechanism to direct frozen Russian sovereign assets, of which about €210 billion are held in Europe (roughly €180 billion at Belgium's Euroclear), but EU states have not agreed on a model. Ukraine's broader Brussels asks include an early transfer of Patriot missiles, raised by Defense Minister Yevheniy Khmara, and EU funding for logistics costs to help farmers export grain bypassing Odesa ports, raised by Agricultural Policy Minister Taras Vysotsky.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian-language coverage foregrounds Marchenko's breakdown of the €69 billion request and emphasizes how much of the gap remains even after the approved €90 billion EU loan. It also highlights Ukraine's wider set of Brussels asks: Defense Minister Yevheniy Khmara's request for early transfers of Patriot missiles from EU stocks, and Agricultural Policy Minister Taras Vysotsky's request for EU funds to cover logistics costs so farmers can export products bypassing the Odesa ports.
How international sources describe it
International coverage, including an English-language agency report citing Le Monde, leans on the "watering the desert" framing, foregrounding EU reluctance rather than the specific breakdown of Ukraine's needs. It highlights structural constraints on EU funding: pressure from member states including Germany to shrink the next long-term budget, upcoming elections in France, Spain, Poland and Italy, and the unresolved legal question of using frozen Russian sovereign assets.
Background
The EU has already approved a €90 billion loan for Ukraine covering 2026-2027, of which roughly €60 billion is for defense and €30 billion for budget support; the European Commission has said this covers only about two-thirds of Ukraine's needs. About €210 billion in frozen Russian sovereign assets are blocked in Europe, around €180 billion of them at Belgium's Euroclear, and Ukraine is pushing for a mechanism to direct these funds toward its needs, though EU states have not agreed on a legal model. The draft of the EU's 2028-2034 long-term budget envisages the possibility of mobilizing up to €100 billion for Ukraine over that period.