EU disburses €3.3 billion to Ukraine for missiles and drones as von der Leyen vows Europe is 'stepping up'
From the Newshound archive · first published 19 September 2026.
The Yanos refinery near Yaroslavl, where the destruction of the AVT-3 distillation unit has halted all crude oil processing — with a second unit already offline since a late-August strike, fuel from the plant was pulled…
The European Union has released €3.3 billion to Ukraine for missiles and drones, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announcing the disbursement following a phone call with President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday. Von der Leyen said Russia is "relentlessly targeting Kyiv, trying to make daily life impossible for its inhabitants." The EU has now mobilised nearly €15 billion for Ukraine this year, with von der Leyen warning partners worldwide that "Europe is stepping up — now others must intensify their support too."
The new package follows last week's approval of Patriot system funding via the Ukraine Support Loan, but von der Leyen said bluntly: 'clearly more is needed.'
The EU is also prepared to redirect remaining SAFE programme funds to launch joint EU-Ukraine defence projects, among them a European air and missile defence system built on the existing Freya anti-ballistic platform.
Overnight Russian strikes on Kyiv left more than 20 people injured — not one missile was brought down by Ukrainian air defences, according to reports, marking the first such attack in ten days.
