Additional $20 billion for defense: Ukraine prepares new request to allies
FILE PHOTO: European Union flags flutter outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium July 16, 2025. REUTERS/Yves Herman//File Photo
Ukraine is seeking an additional $20 billion from allies to bolster its battlefield capabilities, and the country’s leadership hopes to raise the funds at the NATO summit in Ankara.
This was reported by Politico, citing an official from the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
“Everyone sees that Russia is burning, and we want it to burn even more, but we need funding for this,” the publication quotes the interlocutor as saying.
According to Politico, Ukraine plans to voice its request for additional assistance on June 18 during the regular meeting of the Contact Group on Defense Issues in Ukraine (“Ramstein”), where allies coordinate financial and military support for Kyiv.
According to the official, each of the partners will be offered between $2 billion and $6 billion to reach the target amount of $20 billion.
“This can be both aid and a loan,” he noted.
The issue of additional support for Ukraine may become one of the key ones at the July NATO summit in Ankara, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will participate in.
The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine recalled that partner countries have already pledged to provide $38 billion in military assistance this year.
If the additional $20 billion is allocated, Ukraine plans to use the funds to strengthen air defense, increase contributions to the NATO-sponsored PURL program, under which allies purchase American weapons for Ukraine, as well as to purchase drones, ammunition, electronic warfare, long-range systems, and purchase products from Ukrainian defense enterprises.
The main goal is to strengthen Ukraine’s defense capabilities and continue strikes on military facilities on Russian territory.
In particular, the publication notes that with the support of Germany, Norway, and the Netherlands, Ukraine will be able to increase the pace of confrontation with the Russian Federation.
“The window of opportunity is gradually closing. Russia is acting quickly and innovatively. If we give it time to adapt again, we may lose the only real chance to end this war through real negotiations. And if Russia develops its own drones to strike in the middle sections of the trajectory, it will be a disaster for us,” the source warned.
Earlier, “Pryamiy” reported that the US Senate supported an increase in security assistance to Ukraine to $750 million. The corresponding decision was made by the Armed Services Committee during the consideration of the draft defense budget for the next fiscal year.
The lower house of the US Congress also passed a bill that would impose a 500 percent tariff on Russian goods, strengthen sanctions against the Russian Federation, and increase military aid to Ukraine.
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