The European Union is paid to fill the $ 19 billion budget gap in Ukraine next year

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Brussels urgently explores ways to cover a shortage of $ 19 billion in the budget of Ukraine next year, where Kiev is struggling with Reducing support to us The forecast for a ceasefire with Russia has declined.

The European Commission discusses options with the European Union member states, including directing military support to Ukraine as grants outside the budget, and front load loans of $ 50 billion are present G7 support plan As for Kyiv, more benefit from the Russian state’s assets that have been frozen in the European Union, according to several people who are aware of discussions.

Ukraine expected Budget Next year, it has not yet been covered with external financing.

“There is increasing concern about the next year, and many stakeholders who were suffering from the ceasefire this year (to reduce the financial breeds in Ukraine) have to re -calculate their expenses and realize that there is a hole (financing), whatever it was from any way to try to cut it.”

The committee was already forced to control expenditures from the financing currents related to Ukraine during 2025, and officials told the Financial Times, in response to the struggling conflict and lack of confidence in the imminent ceasefire with Moscow.

The urgency comes in Brussels to calm the new financing before a summit focused on financing reconstruction needs in Ukraine, Rome later this week, which will be attended by European Commission President Ursula von der Lin.

The International Monetary Fund estimates that Ukraine’s financing needs for the next year are covered, but this depends on the war that ends this year or in mid -2026 – a scenario that Ukraine and the European Union are not shared.

The administrative director of the International Monetary Fund Crystalina Georginiva said last month that the fund “will evaluate whether this financing gap will increase and will require more funding on external aid.”

The aim is to ensure that Kiev’s needs are being covered before the winter, especially given the undertake of expectations for more American military support, as a European Union diplomat said.

One of the suggestions, which KyIV, with Group 7 countries, and considering the European Commission, is to direct military support to Ukraine as bilateral grants that will be calculated separately as “external transport outside the budget”, and at the same time counting on the goals of spending on the national defense.

This would serve the double goal of contributing to NATO pledges to increase spending on the national defense to 5 percent of GDP while providing support to Ukraine. “Instead of the repetitive capabilities, European allies can participate in the funding of the Ukrainian forces-to treat them as a service that provides Ukraine to promote continental security,” Kiev wrote in a joint paper with G7 allies and saw it by financial times.

Two people were aware of the issue that the committee was to discuss this and other options with the European Union’s finance ministers on Monday evening.

“It is clear that the military support of Ukraine provided by member states is not only money to defend Ukraine but to defend Europe, and some of this will of course be calculated by defensive spending,” said a senior European Union diplomat.

Another option is to expect a disbursement from the current G7 chart worth $ 50 billion, which leads loans to Kyiv against the background of profits from the Russian states that have been frozen in the West.

Without a ceasefire to strengthen the local economy of Ukraine, Kiev expects a shortage of at least $ 8 billion for the year 2026 even if it is possible to provide some threatened amounts, including partners including the European Union, Japan and the United States. If this does not happen, the financing gap may reach $ 19 billion.

Another option can be to extract more value than the Russian assets that have been frozen, by re -investing in the most dangerous assets categories – with a way to exchange responsibility for possible financial losses that do not make Belgium, as most assets are only responsible for them.

“We explore these options, including the possibility of taking advantage of the use of Russia’s designated assets,” said European Union Commissioner Valdes Dumbrovscis last month.