Germany has unveiled a sweeping €4bn military support package for Ukraine and Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called for the rapid disbursement of a long-delayed €90bn EU loan to Kyiv, as European powers scramble to shore up Ukraine's defences as the Trump administration loses interest in the conflict.

"The funds for military support must be disbursed quickly, now," Merz told reporters in Berlin on April 14, following talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. "Ukraine needs them urgently."

Ukraine is rapidly running out of money and faces macroeconomic collapse if more funding is not found within a few months.

The announcement came days after the electoral defeat of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whose prolonged obstruction of a €90bn EU loan package had cut Ukraine off from more cash. Orban initially signed off on the loan at the EU summit in December, but withdrew his approval for the facility due to the Druzhba pipeline row that cut off Russian oil deliveries to Hungary via Ukraine.

Orban’s successor, Peter Magyar, has signalled he will not repeat the blockade, potentially clearing the way for the disbursement, which requires consensus among all 27 member states, however, Magyar has yet to definitely give the loan the thumbs up, suggesting that he intends to use it as leverage in his negotiations on a range of issues in talks with the European Commission (EC) executive.

Zelenskiy announced at the press conference in Berlin that the Druzhba pipeline had been repaired and would go back on line at the end of April, but not at full capacity.

The new German aid package is a stop gap measure that includes badly needed air defence systems, long-range weapons, drones and ammunition. Zelenskiy confirmed the deal would encompass Patriot PAC-2 interceptor missiles and 36 IRIS-T launchers, alongside a €300mn investment in Ukrainian medium- and long-range weapons production.

Ukrainian Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said Berlin had also agreed to finance a contract with RTX Corp (NYSE: RTX) — the parent of Raytheon — for Patriot missile systems. The announcement coincides with RTX signing a separate $3.7bn direct commercial contract to supply Patriot GEM-T interceptors to Ukraine, with a new production facility to be established in Schrobenhausen, Germany, operated through a joint venture with MBDA Deutschland.

Belgium and Spain each pledged €1bn for 2026, earmarked for air defence, drones, F-16 fighters and artillery shells. The ten cooperation agreements signed during Zelenskiy's Berlin visit included what Fedorov described as the largest drone agreement in Europe to date, potentially involving AI-powered joint production with German drone maker Quantum Systems — a Munich-based defence technology unicorn preparing for a public listing as early as 2027 — starting with an initial batch of 5,000 mid-strike drones.

Membership divides

The diplomatic activity in Berlin also laid bare the deep divisions within the EU over Ukraine's path to membership. While Merz expressed firm support for Ukrainian accession and rejected any notion of "second-class" membership, he conceded the process would take "considerable time." His position sits uneasily alongside that of France, the Netherlands and Italy, which are understood to oppose any acceleration of the accession timeline.

As part of the recent peace talks brokered by the Trump administration, the White House suggested in the 27-point peace plan (27PPP) that the EU accelerate Ukraine’s membership to 2027 in lieu of Nato membership. The EU has its own collective security agreement, Article 42/7 that would provide Kyiv with some of the reassurances it seeks against a second Russian invasion.

But European officials are very unhappy with the idea of rushing through Ukraine’s application. There are fears that enlargement could fuel populist political movements and trigger difficult national referenda. In France, the question of Ukrainian membership could prove a boon for the far right. Figures such as Jordan Bardella are expected to exploit the issue, portraying accession as a threat to jobs and a drain on the EU budget. There are also institutional reservations rooted in experience: the 2004 enlargement prompted heated debate over cheap labour displacement, and Hungary's post-accession defiance of EU norms has left senior member states wary of repeating the exercise at speed.

The bloc's dominant view is that accession must remain merit-based and cannot be rushed for geopolitical reasons, though Sweden and Denmark have broken with the consensus, advocating for completion of accession negotiations within years rather than decades.

Zelenskiy moved firmly to close down any discussion of a halfway house. When asked about proposals for a "partial" EU membership that would afford Ukraine reduced decision-making powers, he flatly rejected the idea and extended his dismissal to Nato.

"Everyone in Europe knows our position. We do not need a 'lite' EU or Nato," he said. "Just like European countries, Nato needs Ukraine as a fully capable partner. We need a strong army because nobody wants a 'lite' Ukrainian military."

Moscow's shifting terms

As Europe rallied, Moscow has been stiffening its position in the war. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov dismissed the EU's focus on security guarantees for Kyiv as one-sided.

"As a political and diplomatic solution seems possible, the EU, eager to participate in negotiations, discusses the need for strong security guarantees for Ukraine as part of a peaceful resolution," Lavrov said. "However, no one in the EU mentions security guarantees for Russia, which are essential for resolving the conflict."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed Russian forces were making "positive" progress on the front and raised Moscow's threshold for any settlement, saying a lasting peace would only come when Russia had secured its interests and accomplished its "original goals." He suggested the war could end "today" if Zelenskiy showed "courage" and made "the same well-known decisions" — a formulation widely interpreted as a demand for Ukrainian territorial concessions.

Peskov claimed that territorial differences between the two sides amounted to "about 17-18% of the Donetsk region" and "a few kilometres." However, recent frontline data shows a marked slowdown in Russian advances compared with previous months as Putin takes his foot off the pedal while the Trump administration is distracted by the wars in the Middle East.

However, the trilateral talks appear to be continuing in the background. Both the Russian and Ukrainian sides have recently commented that their positions are “very close” to a settlement. Ukraine's head of the presidential administration Kyrylo Budanov has suggested the gap between Kyiv's and Moscow's negotiating positions is “narrower than it appears.”

Washington's patience wears thin

The European push comes against a backdrop of fraying transatlantic relations. A visit to Kyiv by White House special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner – their first since peace negotiations began – raised hopes of restarting stalled diplomatic efforts.

One European official said Trump's team was "losing patience" with Ukraine and wanted a swift resolution. Trump himself has called Ukraine "not our war" and questioned the wisdom of backing Nato.

The US has also signalled that weapons deliveries to Ukraine could be curtailed as the Pentagon prioritises munitions for the Iran conflict, though Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied that any redirection had yet taken place. Ukraine's Defence Minister reported receiving guarantees from Rubio that weapons purchased under the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) programme would not be diverted.

Despite the diplomatic turbulence, Ukraine's military position has stabilised. Russian troop advances have halted so far in 2026, signs are emerging that Moscow's manpower advantage is shrinking, and Ukraine has extended its medium-range drone campaign deep into Russian territory, targeting air defences and command infrastructure. Earlier this year, Ukrainian forces recaptured roughly 260 square kilometres in Zaporizhzhia. European officials, however, believe the war is likely to persist into next year absent a diplomatic breakthrough, with casualties mounting heavily on both sides.