Solidarity with Ukraine

Giving Ukraine the means to keep the State and the economy running

Providing Ukraine with the financial means to fight the war and to keep its administration running, has been a priority for the Commission. Our support has allowed Ukraine to continue paying wages and pensions, to provide basic services in schools and hospitals, and to restore the critical infrastructure destroyed by Russia.

• In 2022, under different programmes, we provided or guaranteed up to €11.6 billion more.
• In 2023, we provided Ukraine with €18 billion of financial support through monthly, predictable payments under our Macro-Financial Assistance +. 
• In order to provide more stability and predictability, the Ukraine Facility will support Ukraine with €50 billion in regular payments until 2027. So far, a total of €15.6 billion has been mobilised under the Facility, €12.4 billion of which has already been disbursed to Ukraine.
• Moreover, the Commission has taken a leading role in coordinating international economic support for Ukraine, by hosting the Secretariat of the G7-led Multi-Agency Donor Coordination Platform.

We have also acted to help the Ukrainian economy work on its own. Shortly after the beginning of Russia’s war of aggression, the Commission proposed the Autonomous Trade Measures (ATM) to help alleviate the difficult situation faced by Ukrainian producers and exporters. These measures entered into force in June 2022, and they have temporarily suspended import duties, quotas, and trade defence measures on Ukrainian exports to the EU.

The main objective of the Autonomous Trade Measures is to support Ukraine’s economy, but the measures are also mindful of EU industry concerns and therefore include safeguard mechanisms to protect the Union market, if necessary.

The current ATMs will apply until June 2025.

Additionally, the Commission is supporting Ukraine’s energy sector. Ahead of the 2024-2025 winter season, the Commission has proposed to mobilise almost €160 million to make sure Ukrainians withstand the winter: €60 million will be provided as humanitarian aid, in the form of shelters and heaters. Meanwhile, around €100 million will come from the proceeds of immobilised Russian assets in the EU and will serve for repair works on damaged energy infrastructure and renewables. 

Solidarity Lanes to keep Ukraine open to international trade and to protect food security

As Russia blocked Ukrainian exports via the Black Sea and targeted its grain silos and warehouses, it endangered food security for hundreds of millions of people around the world. In May 2022 the Commission proposed the creation of the Solidarity Lanes, providing an alternative export route via Ukraine’s neighbouring countries. Furthermore, the Solidarity Lanes have also become the way for Ukraine to import the goods that it needs.

Since May 2022 the Solidarity Lanes have enabled the export of 157 million tonnes of goods, including around 77 million tonnes of agricultural products mainly for export. Likewise, they have also allowed the import more than 62 million tonnes of goods into Ukraine. The total value of trade via the Solidarity Lanes since May 2022 is estimated at around €180 billion.

The Commission, together with partner financial institutions such as the European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the World Bank, is investing over €2 billion in the Solidarity Lanes. This is also an investment for the long term, as improving the connectivity between the EU and Ukraine will be essential for Ukraine’s integration into the EU Single Market.

Supplying Ukraine with the military and technological means to defend itself

This Commission has led the EU into taking unprecedented steps to support Ukraine militarily. The EU and its Member States have mobilised €45.5 billion in military support, out of which over €6 billion have been disbursed from the European Peace Facility. €5 billion are allocated under the new Ukraine Assistance Fund and will be gradually disbursed.

The EU also launched its largest military training mission: the EU Military Assistance Mission, which has now trained close to 60 000 members of the Ukrainian military and has made the EU the biggest training provider of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

We have provided support to cybersecurity and resilient digital transformation in Ukraine via the EU4Digital Ukraine programme. In the wake of Russia’s cyber-attacks against Ukraine, we promoted co-operation between EU and Ukrainian cyber experts, including via regular EU-Ukraine Cyber Dialogues, and we have coordinated the provision of technical assistance, equipment, software, and relevant services, to strengthen Ukraine’s cyber resilience and cyber defence.

The EU has financed and delivered equipment for a cyber-lab, security software and hardware to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, under the European Peace Facility. With this support, Ukraine can build and further develop its cyber defence capacities to detect intrusions to the information systems, deal with cyberattacks and strengthen their overall capacity in the cybersecurity area.

Furthermore, in June 2024, the EU and Ukraine concluded and signed joint security commitments. With this document, the European Union and its Members States commit to continue helping Ukraine to defend itself, resist destabilisation efforts and deter acts of aggression in the future. On its side, Ukraine commits to continue reforms in the areas of security, intelligence and defence, strengthen transparency and accountability, and share information with the EU and its Member States for their own security. 

Providing a safe haven for people fleeing the war

On 4 March 2022, only days after the start of the Russian invasion, the Commission proposed, and the Member States accepted, to activate for the first time ever the Temporary Protection Directive. This protected Ukrainian people fleeing the war, granting rights within the EU, including residence permits, access to the labour market and education for children. More than four million individuals have benefitted from this temporary protection, and the EU has become a safe haven for almost one fifth of Ukraine’s children.

The temporary protection has been extended until March 2026.

At the same time, the Commission has made available €17 billion in additional financial support to Member States targeted to help communities receive people fleeing the war.

Welcoming Ukraine into our European family

Imposing sanctions to cripple Russia’s war machine and impose economic and political costs

The EU has agreed and imposed 14 wide-ranging sanctions packages against Russia and its supporters.

We have coordinated closely with our partners bilaterally and in multilateral fora like the G7 and we have worked to ensure that sanctions target Russia’s war economy, whilst minimising negative effects on the EU economy.

Furthermore, our measures do not affect agrifood exports from Russia to third countries, thereby minimising the impact on world food security. Likewise, restrictions exclude products related to health and pharmaceuticals in order not to harm the Russian population. Meanwhile, our measures do target those outside Russia who support its aggression (Belarus, Iran) and those who help with the circumvention of EU sanctions.

The Commission has supported Member States in enforcing sanctions, which remains a national competency. We are working closely with national authorities on addressing circumvention risks by providing guidance and legal clarity.

We are also acting to prevent that third countries are used for sanctions circumvention. The Commission appointed in December 2022 an International Special Envoy for the Implementation of Sanctions, who is leading diplomatic outreach and constant engagement with third countries to reduce the risk of circumvention and strengthen cooperation with our partners.

Our sanctions have focused on:

Holding Russia accountable for its actions and making it pay for the destruction it causes

So far, EU Member States have immobilised over €28 billion of assets belonging to more than 2 200 Russian and Belarussian individuals and entities. To bolster the effectiveness of these measures, co-legislators have agreed on our proposal to strengthen the rules for the recovery and confiscation of assets and to harmonise criminal offences and penalties for the violation of restrictive measures, such as failing to freeze assets, breaching travel bans, and providing prohibited financial services. This work is coordinated by the Freeze and Seize Task Force.

Member States estimate that around €210 billion of Central Bank assets are currently immobilised in the EU, while still generating interest and revenue that could be used to support Ukraine’s economy. In December 2023, the Commission and the High Representative made a proposal to set aside that extraordinary revenue arising from the management in the EU of immobilised Russian Central Bank assets.

This was followed by another proposal in March 2024 to use those extraordinary profits for the benefit of Ukraine, with immediate focus on financing military equipment, and with a medium- and longer-term perspective of supporting the recovery and reconstruction of the country. Both proposals have been adopted by the Council. 

In July 2024, the EU made available in support of Ukraine the first payment of €1.5 billion generated from immobilised Russian assets. The money will be channelled through the European Peace Facility and to the Ukraine Facility to support Ukraine's military capabilities as well as to support the country's reconstruction.

In June 2024, G7 and EU leaders decided to make available €45 billion in the form of loans by G7 members by the end of 2024. The loans would be serviced and repaid by future flows of extraordinary revenue stemming from immobilised Russian sovereign assets. In September 2024, the Commission proposed to establish a Ukraine Loan Cooperation Mechanism to support the issuing of these loans. Since then, the EU has adopted this Mechanism, as well as an exceptional Macro-Financial Assistance loan of up to €18.1 billion, which constitutes the EU’s contribution.

We also remain at the forefront of efforts to ensure accountability in the context of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. The atrocities that Russia has committed in Bucha, Izium, and elsewhere cannot go unpunished.

The EU and the Commission are providing support to the Ukrainian authorities and to the Ukrainian Prosecutor General in the collection of evidence and training of investigators via the EU Advisory Mission in Ukraine and via Eurojust. We also reinforced Eurojust’s mandate, so that it can collect, preserve and share the evidence of war crimes, as it might be difficult to preserve it in Ukraine due to the current security situation.

The Commission supported and contributed to the establishment of the International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine (ICPA) in The Hague, hosted by Eurojust, with the objective to coordinate efforts to collect, preserve and store evidence for future trials. It also supported the establishment of the Register of Damage at the Council of Europe as first step toward a comprehensive international mechanism for providing compensation to victims of Russian aggression.

We also provide funding to the International Criminal Court for the investigation that it is carrying out in Ukraine for crimes committed by Russia since 2014.

Ensuring Europe’s energy independence

The EU has significantly reduced imports of Russian fossil fuels, quickly finding alternative suppliers, speeding up deployment of renewable energy, and reducing the EU’s overall gas consumption. We have also started the joint purchase of gas from reliable partners on the global markets via the EU Energy Platform, to which Ukraine also participates. In 2023, European buyers had access to 42 billion cubic meters of gas through the Platform.

Our action was driven by REPowerEU, a plan presented in March 2022, for the EU to collectively reduce its dependency from Russian fossil fuels, diversify energy supplies, and accelerate the transition to clean energy. REPowerEU is not only shielding the EU from an unreliable energy supplier like Russia, but also contributing to the objectives of the European Green Deal.

Supporting the EU’s defence industry and its capabilities 

The war in Ukraine has shown that we need to take more responsibility for our own security and defence in order to act autonomously and secure the EU’s geopolitical role.

The Act in Support of Ammunition Production (ASAP), and the European Defence Industry Reinforcement through common Procurement Act (EDIRPA) provide an ambitious pathway for the European defence industry: ASAP will provide €500 million to support 31 investment projects with the objective of ramping-up ammunition production in the EU to two million per year by the end of 2025. The selected projects cover five areas: explosives, powder, shells, missiles, and testing and reconditioning certification. They are expected to leverage additional industry investment to reach a total of about €1.4 billion.

As for EDIRPA, with its budget of €310 million, it will incentivise Member States to jointly procure urgently needed defence products, while improving interoperability among Member States, and facilitating the integration of a European defence market. The first calls for proposals were launched in March 2024.

The recently adopted European Defence Industrial Strategy (EDIS) and the Commission proposal for a European Defence Industry Programme (EDIP) regulation will bring support to and cooperation with Ukraine to an unprecedented level. They open unique opportunities for the Ukrainian industry to participate in the Union’s programme in support of the defence industry. 

Achievements in other areas