EU Unlocks €90B Ukraine Aid, Sanctions Russia Again

The European Union on Thursday formally approved a 90 billion euro (97.5 billion USD) loan for Ukraine and agreed its 20th package of sanctions against Russia, after a diplomatic standoff with Hungary was resolved. Officials said the decisions followed weeks of negotiations and cleared the way for the release of financial support to Kyiv while tightening economic pressure on Moscow.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is scheduled to meet EU leaders in Cyprus to discuss what the new backing means for Ukraine. The financial package is intended to strengthen Ukraine’s defense capabilities, support arms procurement, and help prepare the country’s energy system for the coming winter after recent Russian attacks, according to the details outlined alongside the agreement.

The breakthrough came after Hungary lifted vetoes that had blocked progress. Hungary’s position had been tied to the restart of Russian oil deliveries via a pipeline that crosses Ukraine. Hungarian energy group MOL said Russian oil flows to Hungary and Slovakia resumed on Thursday, removing a key obstacle and allowing the EU to move ahead with both the loan and the sanctions package.

Alongside the Ukraine and Russia measures, EU leaders are also set to discuss the wider economic effects of the Middle East conflict, including rising energy prices. Officials said the talks will consider possible responses such as cutting electricity taxes and speeding up the shift toward green energy, reflecting concerns about household and business costs as well as broader inflation pressures.

The European Commission recently said the EU has spent an additional 24 billion euros on oil and gas imports since the Middle East conflict began in February. The Commission’s figure was cited as evidence that, despite efforts to expand renewable energy, the bloc remains heavily dependent on fossil fuels—an exposure that can become more visible when geopolitical tensions push energy prices higher.

For global markets, the combination of a large EU financial commitment to Ukraine, a new sanctions round on Russia, and renewed attention to energy affordability underscores how security decisions and energy supply dynamics continue to intersect. At the same time, the resumption of Russian oil flows to Hungary and Slovakia highlights that parts of Europe still rely on specific supply routes, even as the EU pursues longer-term changes in its energy mix.