Von der Leyen announces new €3.5bn tranche to Ukraine from EU

The European Union (EU) will provide Ukraine with €3.5bn in financial assistance, European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen said during a visit to Kiev on February 24.

"Europe is here to strengthen Ukraine at a critical moment. I can announce that Ukraine's new €3.5 billion tranche will come as early as March," reads the text of the statement on the EC website.

In addition, Von der Leyen added that she will present a plan to increase arms production and strengthen the EU's defense capabilities at the summit of the organization on March 7. Kiev will also be able to benefit from this strategy of Brussels, Von der Leyen emphasized.

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Earlier in the day, EU foreign ministers approved the 16th package of sanctions against Russia. The sanctions list included 48 individuals and 35 organizations. In addition, it was decided to ban 13 banks from access to the SWIFT system. Restrictions are also imposed on imports of chromium, some chemicals and on the maintenance of oil and gas processing plants.

On 22 February, Bloomberg reported that the EU was negotiating a new military aid package worth €20bn for Ukraine. The package will include artillery ammunition, air defence systems, precision-guided missiles, drones and other types of weapons.