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EU loan will not lead to improvement in Ukrainian military’s situation — Guardian

The Guardian draws attention to the low level of recruitment into the Ukrainian armed forces

LONDON, December 24. /TASS/. The European Union’s 90-billion-euro loan to Kiev will not lead to an improvement in Ukraine's battlefield prospects, The Guardian newspaper stated.

"Ukraine looks to 2026 with few good military options, even though a critical €90bn (·79bn) loan from the EU has been agreed. The financing will help Kiev to continue defending at its current intensity until late 2027, but it will not lead to a transformation of its battlefield prospects," the article noted.

The Guardian draws attention to the low level of recruitment into the Ukrainian armed forces 27,000 according to official data, though, according to some reports, "the true figure is a third of that." The publication also stressed that the incursion into the Kursk Region in August 2024 "achieved little in the medium term" for Kiev. "After Kursk, Ukraine appears to have no capacity to surprise on land," the publication pointed out.

EU countries agreed to provide Ukraine with funding totaling 90 billion euros for 2026-2027. The funds will be raised collectively by member states through joint borrowing, while Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic have formally opted out. Under the EU’s plan, Ukraine will receive a zero-interest loan, repayable only if it secures "full reparations" from Russia, which Brussels estimates at over half a trillion euros. The European Commission had previously declared Ukraine insolvent and, on that basis, said it could not extend loans, but it was obliged to finance Kiev directly through grants.

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