Council raises lethal equipment fund for Ukraine to 5.9 billion euros

The Council of the European Union has raised the financial reference amount of its assistance measure for the supply of lethal military equipment to the Ukrainian Armed Forces to EUR 5,918,856,325.22, an increase of EUR 1,798,856,325.22. The increase is set out in Council Decision (CFSP) 2026/2364, adopted in Luxembourg on 26 October 2026 and published in the Official Journal of the European Union of 27 October 2026. The same package rewrites the budget of the ammunition measure through Council Decision (CFSP) 2026/2363, which releases EUR 670,971,859.54 for lethal equipment.

Both decisions amend instruments created under the European Peace Facility (EPF), set up by Decision (CFSP) 2021/509 of 22 March 2021 to finance common foreign and security policy actions, including actions strengthening the capacities of third States in military and defence matters. Decision (CFSP) 2022/338 of 28 February 2022 established the lethal-equipment measure in response to the Russian Federation’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Its financial reference amount stood at EUR 4,120,000,000 after the last amendment, made by Decision (CFSP) 2023/810 of 13 April 2023.

A ceiling of 5,918.8 million euros

Under Article 1 of the new decision, the administrator for assistance measures may call for contributions of up to EUR 5,918,856,325.22. Expenditure remains eligible from 1 January 2022 until a date to be determined by the Council, and the text keeps the tranche-by-tranche caps on eligible spending, including:

• EUR 446,374,895.54 for expenditure incurred before 11 March 2022;
• EUR 1,386,484,776.34 for 11 March to 20 July 2022;
• EUR 654,326,601.50 for 21 July to 30 November 2022;
• EUR 473,000,113.21 for 1 December 2022 to 10 February 2023;
• EUR 1,926,312,719.65 eligible from 16 April 2023.

A separate envelope of EUR 569,040,930.40 remains available for reimbursing donated materiel — ground-to-ground and artillery ammunition and, if requested, missiles — delivered between 9 February and 31 May 2023. Maintenance and repair costs are eligible from 17 October 2022 and refit costs from 2 February 2023.

The leftover ammunition money

Decision (CFSP) 2023/927 of 5 May 2023 financed 155-mm-calibre artillery rounds, and missiles if requested, jointly procured from the European defence industry. On the basis of implementation data, the Council cut that measure’s reference amount to EUR 329,028,140.46 and noted that the remaining EUR 670,971,859.54 should go to the lethal-equipment measure. The two figures add up to exactly EUR 1,000,000,000, the sum the ammunition instrument handled until now.

Both texts invoke Article 28(1) and Article 41(2) of the Treaty on European Union and were adopted on a proposal from the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. They enter into force on the date of adoption and are signed for the Council by its President, M. Heydon. They restate that assistance measures must respect Common Position 2008/944/CFSP on arms export control, and reaffirm the Council’s commitment to human rights, democracy and the rule of law.

Higher annual ceilings and more non-lethal aid

Two companion decisions complete the package. Decision (CFSP) 2026/2362 replaces Annex I of Decision (CFSP) 2021/509 after the political agreement reached by the Political and Security Committee on 25 September 2026 on mobilising EPF funds for Ukraine, including the Ukraine Assistance Fund. The annual commitment ceilings, in millions of euros at current prices, are now:

• 2021: 399; 2022: 591; 2023: 971; 2024: 2,082;
• 2025: 1,644; 2026: 5,079; 2027: 6,274.

Decision (CFSP) 2026/2365 raises the non-lethal measure under Decision (CFSP) 2022/339 from EUR 380,000,000 to EUR 752,115,534.32, an addition of EUR 372,115,534.32 for personal protective equipment, first aid kits and fuel.

Taken together, the four decisions adopted on 26 October 2026 concentrate more than 2.8 billion euros of fresh commitments on Ukraine in a single day and push the EPF’s planned spending for 2027 to its highest annual level. For European defence contractors, the reallocation means that money previously reserved for artillery ammunition is now available for lethal equipment contracts, while Member States face a higher call for contributions from the EPF administrator.

Source: Official Journal of the European Union, L series, No 2026/2364, 27 October 2026, p. 1/3 (official reference: CELEX 32026D2364).