Officials of the European Union will begin considering a new plan this week to unlock military assistance for Ukraine, as reported by The Wall Street Journal, citing a draft plan presented on January 19. The first announcement of the proposed plan was made by the Bloomberg news agency.
The initiative envisions the creation of a special fund, into which 6.5 billion euros from the European Peace Fund will be allocated. Additionally, five billion euros per year will be allocated from 2024 to 2027.
The funds from the new fund are intended to be used to compensate EU countries for joint purchases of weaponry for Ukraine, including drones, anti-aircraft missiles, and ammunition. Part of the funds will also go towards financing the training of Ukrainian military personnel in the European Union.
If the EU approves the new plan, member countries will be able to recover over 20 billion euros from EU funds in exchange for providing “tens of billions of euros” in military aid to Ukraine over the next four years, according to WSJ.
The plan proposes that EU countries could receive compensation for military aid amounting to 7.5 billion euros as early as 2024.
“With Ukraine’s dependence on external support in mind, the choice made by EU countries and partners in the upcoming period will either allow Ukraine to decisively move forward or seriously undermine its ability to resist,” the plan, quoted by WSJ, states.
It is expected that EU leaders will consider the proposal at the summit scheduled for February 1.