EU releases first €3 billion loan tranche for Ukraine at Gdansk recovery meet

Warsaw,UPDATED: Jun 25, 2026 17:38 IST

The European Union has released the first 3 billion euros of a 90 billion-euro loan for Ukraine, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on Thursday at the opening of a recovery conference in Poland. The meeting in Gdansk, attended by leaders including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, was aimed at raising support for Ukraine’s reconstruction and signalling continued backing from its Western partners.

Svyrydenko said Ukraine was thankful for the support promised to the war-hit country. “We are forced to innovate to survive, and this has become our superpower,” she said. The Ukrainian delegation is planning to sign 160 agreements worth more than 10 billion euros during the conference, she added.

Von der Leyen reaffirmed the EU’s financial support for Ukraine, days after the country formally began negotiations on joining the EU on June 15. She said EU countries have provided 200 billion euros in economic, financial and military support since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022, and have approved another 90 billion euros over the next two years through an EU support loan. She also said another 6 billion euros from the loan, meant for drone production, will start being paid out in the coming days.

In a separate move, European leaders in Gdansk said they were launching a European equity fund for investment in strategic sectors of Ukraine’s economy. “With an initial public package of up to 220 million euros, we are creating the confidence and the risk-sharing mechanism that private investors need to engage now,” Merz said. He said public money alone would not be enough to rebuild Ukraine, adding, “By investing now and committing long-term capital, Europe is sending a clear message: we believe in Ukraine’s future within the European family.” The fund was first proposed at last year’s recovery conference in Rome and is backed by the EU, Germany, Poland, Italy and France.

The conference was also marked by tensions between Ukraine and Poland. Svyrydenko led the Ukrainian delegation after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pulled out days before the event following a dispute with Polish President Karol Nawrocki over World War II-related issues. This month, Nawrocki stripped Zelenskyy of Poland’s highest state honour after Zelenskyy named a military unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, or UPA. The UPA fought for Ukrainian independence against both Nazi German and Soviet forces, but in Poland it is accused of killing tens of thousands of Poles during the war, mainly in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia, killings that the Polish state classifies as genocide. Zelenskyy later returned the award to Poland, and other Ukrainian officials also followed suit.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Zelenskyy’s absence from the conference could help lower tensions, while Svyrydenko did not mention the dispute in her speech. “We can only build the future on the basis of truth, mutual respect and understanding the past,” Tusk said. The conference ended up combining fresh financial commitments for Ukraine with a push to keep reconstruction efforts moving despite strains between the two neighbours.

With PTI Inputs

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