The European Commission estimates Ukraine’s financing needs for next year at over €71 billion, the lion’s share of which will go to military needs

This is stated in a letter from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to European Union leaders dated November 17.

“The scale of Ukraine’s financing gap is significant. According to preliminary forecasts by the International Monetary Fund, assuming that the war ends at the end of 2026 and taking into account all the support promised by the EU, member states, and international partners , Ukraine will still face a huge shortfall that cannot be overcome without new funding,” von der Leyen wrote to EU leaders.

The President of the European Commission identified four key parameters for providing financial assistance to Ukraine:

funding must be quickly available, with the first payments to be made at the beginning of the second quarter of 2026;
any new financial package must ensure that it does not create an additional fiscal burden for Ukraine;
the financing must be flexible enough to take into account the significant uncertainties regarding Ukraine’s exact financing needs in 2026-27;
There must be a fair distribution of the “burden” of financing Ukraine with the EU’s international partners.

She recalled that in October 2025, the European Council committed to “address Ukraine’s urgent financing needs for 2026-2027, including its military and defense efforts.”