EU to disburse $3.8B for missiles and drones to Ukraine: Von der Leyen

The European Union will disburse €3.3 billion ($3.8 billion) to Ukraine for missiles and drones, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Thursday after a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

"Tomorrow, we will disburse another €3.3 billion to Ukraine," von der Leyen said in an official readout of the call.

She said the payment comes as Russian strikes continue to hit the Ukrainian capital.

"Russia is relentlessly targeting Kyiv, trying to make daily life impossible for its inhabitants," she said. "We stand with them. And with all Ukrainians."

The funds are part of the €28.3 billion set aside for Ukraine's defense this year under the EU's Ukraine Support Loan.

Von der Leyen said the bloc last week approved EU funding for Patriot systems through the same loan, a step that also opened the way for Ukraine to buy US-made Patriot interceptors used against ballistic missiles.

"But clearly more is needed," she said.

She said Brussels was ready to use remaining funds from SAFE — Security Action for Europe, the EU's defense financing instrument for member-state investment and joint purchases — to start a new program for joint EU-Ukraine defense projects.

"We want to develop together a European air and missile defense system, building on our joint anti-ballistic Freya system," said von der Leyen, "so that we can combine Ukraine's battlefield experience and innovation with Europe's technology and industrial strength."