European Union agrees on a new $54 billion aid package for Ukraine

The deal, to support Ukraine's war-ravaged economy, comes despite weeks of threats from Hungary to veto the move.

The leaders of the 27 European Union countries sealed a deal Thursday to provide Ukraine with a new 50-billion-euro ($54 billion) support package for its war-ravaged economy despite weeks of threats from Hungary to veto the move.

European Council President Charles Michel announced the agreement that was reached in the first hour of a summit he was chairing in Brussels.

“We have a deal,” Michel said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. He said the agreement “locks in steadfast, long-term, predictable funding for Ukraine,” and demonstrated that the “EU is taking leadership and responsibility in support for Ukraine; we know what is at stake.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed it as a “very important” decision.

That Hungary lifted its veto, and so quickly, came as a surprise. On the eve of the summit, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban posted on X: “We will stand up for the voice of the people! Even if the bureaucrats in Brussels blackmail us.”