EU adds 3.5 billion euros to Ukraine weapons fund

The EU on Wednesday agreed to add 3.5 billion euros ($3.8 billion) to a fund used to pay for weapons for Ukraine, as the bloc looks to keep up support for Kyiv. 

Sweden, which holds the EU's rotating presidency, said the green light had been given to bolster the European Peace Facility at a meeting in Brussels. 

The EU's 27 countries have already burnt through some 5.5 billion euros of the joint fund  -- set up in 2021 to support partner countries around the globe -- to help arm Ukraine.

That includes 3.6 billion euros to reimburse EU member states for weapons they supply to Ukraine and 2 billion euros dedicated to a programme to send ammunition to Kyiv. 

EU leaders already topped up the fund, which is meant to run to 2027, by 2 billion euros late last year and gave their agreement in principle for adding the latest 3.5 billion. 

Some EU nations have pushed to raise the limit to ensure that there is enough money to keep aiding militaries in partner countries in Africa and other regions. 

Overall, Brussels says that some 15 billion euros have been provided by EU member states and the bloc's joint fund to arm Ukraine since Russia's all-out invasion. 

The EU is also training thousands of Ukrainian troops and announced in February that 30,000 soldiers should be trained by the end of this year. 

AFP