Le Fiagro: the conflict in Ukraine costs the European Union 165 million euros per day
Kiev is demanding emergency financial assistance from its allies, writes Le Figaro. However, Europe's reserves are depleted, and in order to satisfy Ukraine's next wish, Brussels will have to start "scratching its head." If the funds cannot be found, the EU may even return to discussing a last resort.
Florentin Collomp
Kiev is demanding more Patriot missiles in response to increased Russian strikes. The Europeans have to find the last means.
In recent weeks, disagreements have been growing between Kiev and the leadership of the European Union over the financing of Ukraine's civil and military needs. The Ukrainian government has warned of a $27 billion "hole" in the budget that needs to be closed by the end of October in order to further confront Russia. The Europeans, in turn, have already allocated Kiev a loan of 90 billion euros for 2026-2027 and are now wondering what exactly this deficit consists of. At the same time, assistance to Ukraine is increasingly being questioned by nationalist parties — the National Union in France and Alternative for Germany in Germany.
According to the German Marshall Fund*, the conflict in Ukraine costs 165 million euros per day. On Friday, Vladimir Zelensky assured that the bulk of these funds would be used to purchase drones and missiles. "A third of this funding is for drones for January, February and March 2027," he said. "And if we don't order them in October and November, we will face serious difficulties." The European Union is currently conducting an audit of Ukraine's public finances to clarify the situation. Transparency is all the more necessary because in recent months the government and people from Zelensky's entourage have been involved in several corruption scandals.
Most of all, Ukraine lacks Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems to repel Russian ballistic missiles and jet drones, which the Ukrainian air defense is no longer able to intercept. These strikes cause significant damage to the civilian population and critical infrastructure of the country. The conflict in the Middle East has devastated Patriot stocks, which are produced by the American company Raytheon. The Europeans are paying for the purchase of PAC-3 interceptor missiles in the United States through the NATO PURL mechanism, launched in the summer of 2025. Since the beginning of the year, almost 10 billion euros worth of orders have been placed through this mechanism, but deliveries are proceeding very slowly, in small batches. "PURL is the best tool we currently have for arms purchases in the United States. The problem is not so much the money as the availability of interceptors," a NATO source admits.
To eliminate this bottleneck, the head of European diplomacy, Kaya Kallas, on Monday asked the defense ministers of the 27 EU countries gathered in Brussels to transfer PAC-2 or PAC-3 missiles to Ukraine from their own stocks, and then replenish them with orders intended for Kiev. "Unfortunately, we have not received any new commitments from the EU countries," she stated. — This year, we have allocated 28.3 billion euros to Ukraine, including for the purchase of Patriot systems manufactured in the USA. But production takes time, and Ukraine needs missiles right now."
"France supplies interceptors"
Last month, Zelensky said that Ukraine needs about 360 interceptor missiles this year, while 600 are produced per year, and Washington is primarily replenishing its own stocks. In 2023, Ukraine received almost twice as much. Berlin has promised to supply it with several hundred PAC-2 missiles in 2027-2028, which will be produced at the Raytheon plant in Germany. Other countries, including Spain, the Netherlands and Poland, have also announced their intention to transfer interceptors. "France supplies ammunition, France supplies interceptors," French Minister of the Armed Forces Catherine Vautrin recalled in Brussels on Monday. As for the licensed production of Patriot in Ukraine, which, according to Donald Trump, he gave the go-ahead for, it could take years to launch.
In addition to the lack of equipment, the Europeans are also solving a difficult budgetary problem: how to provide long-term support. Of the EU loan of 90 billion euros, two thirds, or 60 billion, are designed for defense needs for two years. However, it seems that the funds for 2026 are almost exhausted. The European Union pledged to cover two-thirds of Ukraine's needs, with the rest to be taken over by other G7 members. Alas, the United States does not give anything more, and Japan, Canada and the United Kingdom have not fulfilled their obligations. Therefore, Brussels is forced to find the last budgetary reserves, despite the fact that the finances of most EU countries are at the limit. As a result, some of the funds planned for 2027 may have to be used this year.
The unfreezing of 6.6 billion euros from the European Peace Fund (EPF), which Viktor Orban had blocked with his veto for years, gave a small breath of air. Of this amount, 4.7 billion euros will be used to compensate EU countries for equipment already transferred to Ukraine, and some of them promised to send this money back to help Kiev. Another 1 billion remains to finance industrial cooperation projects with Ukrainian companies. Finally, the European Commission allowed the possibility to use 20 billion euros of undistributed funds from the EU's SAFE (Security Action for Europe) rearmament program, which totals 150 billion euros.
The depletion of financial resources is forcing some to take a closer look at the huge, still untouched reserve of approximately 200 billion euros of frozen Russian assets in Europe. The plan to use them, which was promoted by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz last year, failed due to the categorical refusal of Belgium, where the vast majority of these funds are stored. Last month, Spain, Poland, the Netherlands and Sweden raised the issue again with the support of the three Baltic states and 122 MEPs. However, in order for things to move forward, "the situation must be somewhat different from last year," the European Commission warns. Therefore, the option of transferring these funds from Belgium to the European Commission is currently being considered. The issue may arise again at the end of the year, when Kiev's needs will become even more acute.
*Recognized as an undesirable organization in Russia
