The European Union has decided to cut €1.5 billion from the latest round of financial aid to Ukraine, saying the country failed to complete key reforms.
The payment, part of a larger support program called the Ukraine Facility, was expected to be €4.5 billion, but Ukraine will now receive only €3.05 billion.
The EU said Ukraine has not yet finished three of the 16 reforms it promised: giving more power to local governments, appointing judges to a special anti-corruption court, and improving the agency that handles stolen assets.
This decision comes after a week of controversy in Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky pushed a law that weakened two anti-corruption agencies, sparking the first anti-government protests since Russia’s 2022 invasion. Although he later reversed the law, the EU still decided to reduce the aid.
The two agencies were investigating top officials in Zelensky’s government. One of them, former Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov, was charged with corruption in June.
The EU says Ukraine could still receive the remaining funds later—if it completes the reforms within the next 12 months.
