EU releases €3bn loan as Kyiv steps up pressure on Russia

Moscow has redeployed air defences to protect sites: Zelenskyy

Warsaw/Kyiv: The European Union on Thursday released the first €3 billion tranche of a €90 billion loan package for Ukraine as European leaders reaffirmed long-term financial and political support for the war-hit nation at a recovery conference in Poland.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU has provided €200 billion in economic, financial and military assistance since Russia’s full-scale invasion in Feb 2022 and will soon release another €6 billion for Ukraine’s drone production. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also announced a new European equity fund to attract private investment for Ukraine’s reconstruction. 

Ukrainian PM Yulia Svy­rydenko said Kyiv plans to sign 160 pacts worth over €10 billion during the conference.

Meanwhile, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia has redeployed significant air defence systems to protect Moscow, the Kerch Bridge and other strategic sites after a series of Ukrainian long-range drone strikes. He claimed the move had left other parts of Russia more vulnerable and renewed his call for genuine peace talks.

Russia, however, continued overnight drone and missile attacks on Ukraine, damaging civilian infrastructure, including gas stations in the Sumy and Zaporizhzhia regions, while Moscow said its air defences intercepted 269 Ukrainian drones. —AP