Zelenskyy, Stoltenberg discuss idea to create €100 bn NATO fund for Ukraine defense

NATO may initiate a €100 billion fund to support Ukraine's defense for five years, President Zelenskyy said after his meeting with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg in Kyiv.

Apr 30, 2024 - 08:50

Zelenskyy, Stoltenberg discuss idea to create €100 bn NATO fund for Ukraine defense

NATO may establish a special fund to provide €100 billion ($107 billion) in financial support for Ukrainian defenses over five years, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced during a joint briefing with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Kyiv, according to Ukrinform and Liga.

In early March, Politico reported that Stoltenberg was set to propose a five-year $100 billion fund for Ukraine to provide stable, long-term financial assistance for its defense against Russian aggression, while NATO allies discussed assuming control of the Ramstein Group to formalize support for Ukraine, partly in anticipation of potential political changes, including the possibility of Donald Trump’s re-election in the US.

“Today we discussed Jens’s initiative to create a special Fund to financially support Ukraine’s defenses in the amount of EUR 100 billion for a period of five years,” Zelenskyy said on 29 April in Kyiv.

According to Zelenskyy, the allies genuinely have the capability to implement such an initiative. He stressed that the details regarding the creation of the fund are critically important for Ukraine.

“It is important that this is not at the expense of bilateral volumes, earmarked in our agreements on security guarantees,” the Ukrainian President said.

On 29 April, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg made an unannounced visit to Kyiv, where he met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as reported by NATO’s press service. Zelenskyy noted that this was Stoltenberg’s third visit to Ukraine since the full-scale Russian invasion began.