EU aims for 8 billion euro Ukraine funding package by September - German govt official

BERLIN (Reuters) - The European Union intends to put together a financing package for Ukraine worth around 8 billion euros ($8.15 billion) by September, a German government official said.

The package includes funds already pledged. It will be split between grants and loans, the official, who did not wish to be identified, told journalists on Thursday.

In May, the European Commission proposed up to 9 billion euros in loans to Ukraine during 2022 to keep the country running and set up a reconstruction package made up of grants and loans and modelled on the EU's own recovery fund.

The Group of Seven's financial leaders agreed later that month on $9.5 billion in new aid, mainly from the United States, with the European Commission contributing $1 billion in grants and Germany chipping in with a similar amount that Berlin has already paid.

The rest of the EU aid proposed in May would be presented in the September package, to which Germany will also contribute, the official said.

The envisaged funds should support the Ukrainian budget, while military, humanitarian and reconstruction aid would be financed from other sources, the official said.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday its budget deficit was running at $5 billion a month.

($1 = 0.9818 euros)

(Reporting by Christian Kraemer, Writing by Riham Alkousaa and Miranda Murray; editing by John Stonestreet)