The Belgian presidency of the European Union said that member states agreed, on Wednesday, to provide a military aid package to Ukraine worth 5 billion euros (the euro equals 1.09 dollars) within the framework of reviving an aid fund managed by the Union.

In turn, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba welcomed the decision.

Kuliba said in a post on the social media platform “X”, previously Twitter: “This is another strong and timely evidence to show European unity and determination to achieve our common victory.”

The decision, which was announced on Wednesday, was taken after weeks of negotiations due to opposition from France and Germany.

Belgium, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the Union, said that the ambassadors of the 27 European Union member states agreed to reform the European Peace Mechanism Fund at a meeting hosted by Brussels.

The agreement comes at a time when Ukraine is complaining of a lack of sufficient ammunition and equipment to confront the Russian invasion, with the US Congress not approving funding for military aid requested by the White House due to a dispute between Republicans and President Joe Biden.

More than two years after the start of the Russian invasion, the Ukrainian army faces a shortage of personnel, and needs ammunition and air defense systems to confront the advance of the Russian army.

Different visions

The European Union has previously spent more than 6 billion euros to assist Ukraine within the framework of the European Peace Facility, which aims primarily to compensate for the weapons provided by some member states to Ukraine.

France was demanding guarantees that weapons manufactured in Europe would be given priority in purchases for shipments intended for Ukraine, while Germany expressed its hesitation regarding this European mechanism, preferring bilateral aid.

Diplomats said that it had been concluded that direct German aid to Ukraine, and Berlin has pledged to provide eight billion euros this year, will be counted as part of German financial support for the European aid fund for Kiev.

Berlin is the largest contributor to this fund, whose budget is provided by member states in proportion to their gross domestic product.

For its part, France obtained a guarantee that “priority” will be given to the European defense industry when a member state submits a request to purchase weapons, unless it proves difficult to obtain them within reasonable time limits.

In total, the European Union and its countries have allocated about 28 billion euros in military aid to Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24