BRUSSELS 

The EU Council on Tuesday approved a fifth regular payment of more than €1.8 billion ($2 billion) to Ukraine under the bloc's Ukraine Facility program.

The disbursement follows Kyiv's "successful completion" of nine steps required for the fifth installment and one outstanding step from the fourth, the council said in a statement.

The funding aims to strengthen Ukraine's macro-financial stability and ensure the continued operation of its public administration amid the ongoing war – now approaching its fifth year – it added.

Payments under the Ukraine Facility are linked to implementation of the Ukraine Plan, which sets out "Kyiv's strategy for recovery, reconstruction, and modernization, as well as a timetable for reforms aligned with EU accession goals."

The facility, which entered into force in March 2024, provides up to €50 billion in grants and loans to support Ukraine between 2024 and 2027.

Of this total, around €32 billion is earmarked to support reforms and investments outlined in the Ukraine Plan, with disbursements conditional on the delivery of specific indicators.

Since its launch, the facility has already disbursed €6 billion ($6.9 billion) in bridge financing, €1.89 billion in pre-financing, and four regular payments of about €4.2 billion, €4.1 billion, €3.5 billion, and €3.2 billion, respectively.