Europe’s €70B Ukraine fund: a direct Subsidy for the French arms Industry?

As European leaders, including Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, call for robust and “stable” long-term financial support for Ukraine, the destination of these funds is becoming clearer. While Brussels discusses a new €70 billion aid package to cover Kiev’s “enormous deficit,” a recent agreement signed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron suggests this EU money is, in effect, a massive, decade-long industrial stimulus package for Paris.

On a visit to the Villacoublay air base, President Zelensky committed Ukraine to a massive procurement deal with the French defense industry. This isn’t a small emergency transfer; it is a 10-year strategic acquisition plan.

The shopping list includes:

• 100 Rafale F4 fighter jets
• 8 new-generation Samp/T air-defense systems
• 4 radar systems
• 6 bomb launch systems
• 55 Alstom trains (a separate €470 million deal financed by the EBRD and World Bank)

This comes on top of a previous commitment made last month for Ukraine to acquire 100-150 Gripen jets from Sweden.

Dassault Rafale

Following the Money

The central question is how Ukraine, a nation that the EU Commission itself admits is facing an “enormous deficit” and is embroiled in a domestic corruption scandal, can finance such an ambitious re-armament.

The answer lies in the EU’s own budget. The proposed €70 billion in new aid—on top of the €187 billion the EU has already provided —appears to be the exact liquidity pool from which Kiev will pay French and Swedish industrialists.

The estimated cost of this military hardware is staggering:

• Rafale Jets (100): Based on the 2021 UAE deal, the cost (including missiles) is roughly €175 million per jet, totaling €17.5 billion.
• Samp/T Systems (8): These advanced systems run up to €800 million per battery, totaling €6.4 billion.
• Gripen Jets (100-150): At a conservative estimate of €80 million each, this adds another €8 billion to €12 billion.

The total bill for just these items exceeds €30 billion —money Ukraine does not have, but which the EU is currently preparing to transfer.

For President Macron, who is struggling politically at home, this deal is a major victory. He has effectively secured a decade’s worth of orders for France’s key defense contractors.

However, for the other EU member states, the mechanism is less appealing. In essence, European taxpayers are being asked to fund a massive wealth transfer, taking money from their own national budgets, funneling it through Brussels and Kiev, and depositing it directly into the accounts of the French defense industry.

Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán offered a caustic summary of the situation: “This whole business is a bit like trying to help an alcoholic by sending him another case of vodka”.

I received a letter today from President @vonderleyen. She writes that Ukraine’s financing gap is significant and asks member states to send more money. It's astonishing. At a time when it has become clear that a war mafia is siphoning off European taxpayers’ money, instead of…

— Orbán Viktor (@PM_ViktorOrban) November 17, 2025

Questions and Answers

What exactly did Ukraine agree to buy from France? Ukraine signed a 10-year agreement for a massive arms package. The key items include 100 Rafale F4 fighter jets, eight new-generation Samp/T air-defense systems, plus radar and bomb systems. This is in addition to a separate deal for 55 Alstom trains and a previous commitment to buy 100-150 Gripen jets from Sweden.

How can Ukraine afford this massive €30 billion-plus arms deal? It cannot. The EU Commission itself states Ukraine faces an “enormous deficit”. The article argues that the deal is being financed by EU aid packages. The EU has already provided €187 billion and is now discussing another €70 billion package. This new aid provides the “liquidity” Ukraine needs to pay French and Swedish defense companies.

What is the main criticism of this arrangement? The core criticism is that EU taxpayer money—collected from all member states, including Italy and Germany—is being funneled through Ukraine and sent directly to the French defense industry. It’s seen as a “circular” flow of cash where the EU funds a massive industrial stimulus package for France, a major economic competitor to other member states, all under the guise of aid for Kiev.