EU finalising €6bn drone package for Ukraine

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said after another large-scale Russian attack on Ukraine that the EU is finalising a €6 billion support package focused on drones.

Von der Leyen noted that Russia carried out one of the longest and most brutal drone attacks on Ukraine overnight.

"Another night of death and destruction. And the indiscriminate targeting of civilians. While Russia openly mocks diplomatic efforts, we continue to strengthen Ukraine. We are finalising a €6 billion drone support package," von der Leyen wrote on X.

She added that the EU continues to increase pressure on Russia's war economy by imposing increasingly tougher sanctions.

During a plenary session of the European Parliament on 29 April, von der Leyen announced that Ukraine will receive €6 billion from the EU for drones in the second quarter of 2026.

European Pravda earlier reported that this tranche of EU assistance will be intended for Ukrainian-produced drones and will be disbursed no later than June. It will come from the €90 billion EU loan package.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine plans to direct the first military tranche from the EU's €90 billion package towards "domestic defence production".