Ukraine has asked the European Union member states to allocate 6.6 billion euros from the European Peace Fund for military assistance to take advantage of the "window of opportunity" on the battlefield, "Reuters" reported.
According to a letter from Ukrainian Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov, which the agency has seen, the country's total defense needs this year amount to about 136 billion euros, with the Ukrainian budget able to provide approximately 53 billion euros.
The document states that this year Ukraine should receive about 28.3 billion euros for defense purposes under a European loan of 90 billion euros. Even with these funds and Kiev's own financing, however, there remain "significant" unmet defense needs.
According to Fedorov, the funds from the European Peace Fund could become "one of the most significant European contributions to Ukraine's defense efforts this year", but only if they are directed where they can have "the greatest military effect".
Earlier, on June 17, Fedorov reported that Kiev had requested an additional $20 billion in military funding from the Contact Group for Ukraine's Defense, known as the "Ramstein" format, in addition to the $40 billion already pledged.
The European Peace Fund is an extra-budgetary instrument of the EU through which the union finances military assistance to partner countries, including the supply of weapons and equipment to Ukraine. In recent years, the fund has become one of the main mechanisms for the European Union's support for Kiev.