The European Commission has approved a €90 billion loan for Ukraine. Of that total, €60 billion will go directly to military spending, with the remaining €30 billion set aside for civilian needs. What matters most is not the size of the loan, but the strings attached. Brussels will require defence funds to be used either to manufacture weapons in Ukraine or to buy them from European arms producers. Kyiv will be allowed to purchase arms from outside Europe only in exceptional cases, and only if the equipment cannot be supplied by European manufacturers in time. The conditions leave little doubt about what the aid is really for. This is not a reconstruction plan or a long-term humanitarian programme. It is designed to keep the war effort going while strengthening the EU’s own defence industry, folding the conflict into a system that treats war as a normal part of EU policy.
