Will Ukraine's strikes on Russian oil exports weaken Moscow's war effort?

Ukraine has ramped up attacks on Russian oil infrastructure in recent weeks, striking refineries and key export terminals as part of a broader campaign against its energy system – but it is unclear how effective the strategy will prove.


Issued on: 09/04/2026 - RFI

Smoke rising from damaged oil storage tanks after a Ukrainian attack in Primorsk,

 Russia, on 29 March 2026. © via REUTERS - VANTOR

Since March, Ukrainian strikes have reached deeper into Russian territory, damaging refineries as well as major terminals that are central to Russia’s oil exports.

After a campaign targeting sites on both the Baltic and the Black Sea, Ukraine’s defence ministry says it has hit more than a dozen oil-related sites in the past month.

Ukraine has also expanded its list of targets beyond energy, identifying sectors such as metallurgy, fertilisers and microchips as linked to Russia’s war industry.

The defence ministry has said it considers oil sites to be military assets. The campaign also comes in response to repeated Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

Earlier this week, Kyiv proposed an energy truce. “If Russia is ready to stop striking our energy sector, we will be ready to do the same,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an address on Monday.

The Kremlin has not responded. The following morning, a swarm of 22 drones struck Russia’s Ust-Luga oil terminal, nearly 1,000 kilometres north of Kyiv.

Export choke points

Ukraine’s recent strikes have focused on the limited number of routes Russia uses to export its oil.

“Russia exports a lot of its oil, but it cannot do so from many places,” Ulrich Bounat, a geopolitical analyst specialising in central and eastern Europe, told RFI.

Russia, he said, relies on three main ports on its western side: Primorsk and Ust-Luga in the Baltic, and Novorossiysk in the Black Sea.

“In the past three weeks, we have seen strikes becoming systematic on these three ports, targeting storage areas but also export terminals,” Bounat added.

Russia's Ust-Luga oil terminal, some 110 km from St Petersburg, has been the target of repeated strikes by Ukraine. © Alexander Demianchuk / Reuters

The explosions have destroyed large oil stocks and damaged infrastructure, while Ukrainian operations on Sunday also struck a pipeline near the port of Primorsk.

Earlier waves of attacks showed Russia could shift production and repair damaged sites relatively quickly.

“The Russians master these technologies, so they know how to repair them, but it forces them to carry out a lot of maintenance, and the people in charge are not at the front,” Thierry Bros, an energy specialist and professor at Sciences Po university in Paris, told RFI.

Economic pressure

The strikes are also aimed at limiting Russia’s revenues from oil exports.

Targeting export capacity can “limit its war chest”, Bros said, while also showing the Russian population that the war is not going as planned.

Repeated attacks on Primorsk and Ust-Luga in late March caused nearly $1 billion in losses, according to figures from the Kyiv School of Economics cited by the Financial Times. Together, the two ports handle around 40 percent of Russia’s oil exports.

The campaign comes as oil prices have risen since the start of the war in Iran, increasing the value of Russian exports.

On 12 March, the United States eased sanctions on Russian oil, offering Moscow some relief from the restrictions that applied to two of its major producers. Ukraine has since tried to reduce those gains by targeting export infrastructure.

The strikes also signal Ukraine’s role in the wider global system, Bros said. “They are a variable in this global system, and if we want to find a solution, we will have to talk to them,” he said.

“Donald Trump is not giving them weapons, Europe is endlessly thinking about what to do. The Ukrainians are using their weapons.”

A risky balance

The strategy carries risks. Disrupting Russian oil flows affects global markets already under pressure from the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz.

There are also limits to the impact. Russia does not rely solely on exports, as it also earns revenue through taxes on oil extraction.

Reducing supply can also push prices higher, increasing the value of the oil that still reaches the market.

Some of Ukraine’s allies have reportedly urged Kyiv to scale back strikes on Russian oil infrastructure, citing concerns over global energy prices.

Zelensky has said the attacks will continue unless Russia makes concessions.

This story has been adapted from the original version in French by Jean-Baptiste Breen and lightly edited for clarity.

 

'The sand has gone': Portugal's €111m plan as winter storms see beaches retreat up to 20 metres

Dune on São João da Caparica beach Euronews/Bruno Silva

By Diana Rosa Rodrigues

Published on 09/04/2026 - EURONEWS

Portuguese authorities have earmarked €111 million for coastal restoration and protection.

Storms that battered Portugal at the beginning of the year caused hundreds of euros worth of damage nationwide - and the coast was no exception.

The Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) recorded a total of 749 incidents on the country's shores, including coastline retreat, which in many places was between 10 and 20 metres.

"Almost all of the mainland's beaches recorded a significant reduction in their sediment content," the APA report says.

It also highlighted issues of cliff instability and damage to walls and ramparts.

Storms cause Portugal's beaches to recede

At São João da Caparica beach, in the municipality of Almada, the agency found that the beach receded by up to 14 metres between 20 January and 19 February.

According to the mayor of Almada, the natural dune and the project to preserve it, called 'Reduna', prevented the beach from a worse fate.

"On the Cova do Vapor side, the Reduna project has proved its worth. Where it is in place, the dune has resisted and is still there," says Inês de Medeiros.

"As soon as the Reduna ends, there is one and a half metres of ditch, because all the sand has gone."

A few kilometres further on, at Fonte da Telha, the mayor describes a similar scenario, made worse by the presence of private beach concessions very close to the waterline.

"In some areas, they ended up being very badly affected. But it could have been worse had there not been a dune there that we installed," she tells Euronews.

"This prevented the sea from entering, because, in the past, the sea reached the road."

The municipality is now waiting for the promised sand nourishment which, according to de Medeiros, has been essential for preserving not only the beaches, but also the urban area.

"These successive sand fillings, despite everything, have safeguarded the coastline," she says.

"Apart from the urban beach area, where the APA is already going to replenish the sand, our coastline hasn't shrunk much and we're hopeful that now the sea will bring sand again."

According to the mayor, the APA has promised to replenish the sand starting in April, in a job that she says is "absolutely necessary".

Related

"People don't really understand because they think that throwing sand into the sea is throwing money into the street, but it's not, because all these fillings have allowed for greater sedimentation on the seabed and this is what is safeguarding the coast," explains the mayor.

She emphasises that many people live or spend time by the sea and that protection measures are therefore necessary.

"In the case of beaches, engineering isn't going to solve it, but in the case of protecting populations, it is," explains de Medeiros. "It will probably be necessary to raise the seawall to protect the urban area and with that, immediately, the chance of flooding decreases a lot."

€111 million to upgrade the Portuguese coast

To compensate for the effect of the storms on the coastline, the APA has announced an investment programme.

It has earmarked €15 million until the end of May - the start of the bathing season - for emergency interventions to repair damage to the coastline and €12 million until December.

These figures are part of a total €111 million investment in the coastal zone to "recover and strengthen the protection of the Portuguese coastline", confirmed APA's Executive.

"The plan includes a series of priority works aimed at restoring infrastructure, reinforcing coastal protection and restoring conditions of safety and enjoyment of the beaches," the government said in a statement.

"The interventions include rebuilding beach accesses, reinforcing dune strands, stabilising cliffs, recovering walkways and artificial beach nourishment operations."

São João da Caparica Beach Euronews/Bruno Silva

Beach retreat: A natural process helped by humans

Beach retreat is not a problem unique to the Portuguese coast, nor is it exclusively caused by bad weather

"This is a process that has been happening for decades, which is linked to a number of different factors," João Joanaz de Melo, a university professor and land-use planning expert, tells Euronews.

These include an accelerated rise in sea levels in recent years and increasingly frequent extreme weather, which de Melo says has been occurring for decades.

Human interventions have also contributed to a structural deficit of sand on the Portuguese coast.

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"This has mainly been caused by the construction of dams since the 1950s," explains the professor. "Large reservoirs retain sediment, which would otherwise reach our coast in much greater quantities."

It is also caused by the extraction of sand from estuaries and bars and the degradation of dunes, which de Melo says "give the coastline resilience".

Rigid constructions such as sea walls protect urban areas but increase erosion in other areas by reflecting wave energy.

"When the sea hits the rock, instead of the energy dissipating, as it does in a dune in good condition, that energy is reflected and increases erosion in other areas," says the expert.

De Melo explains that it is normal for winter storms to cause beaches to retreat, while in the spring and summer, most of that sand eroded returns.

However, he adds that as there is a lack of sand in the system, "from year to year, if nothing is done, the amount of sand on the beach will decrease".

'There are no magic solutions'

Mitigation measures include strengthening natural resilience and reducing risk exposure.

Replenishing sand through dredging helps to temporarily recover beaches, but it doesn't solve the structural sediment deficit. Instead, land-use planning is crucial: avoiding building in high-risk areas and only allowing compatible structures, such as tourist facilities, as long as they are protected.

"In many cases, it's a matter of complying with the law, and in other cases, it's a matter of correcting these municipal plans so that they comply with good planning practices," says de Melo.

These protection and construction measures must be adapted to the physical, social and economic characteristics of each area, he emphasises.

"Costa Caparica is originally a community of fishermen and farmers, so they're used to dealing with occasional storms and floods, like many other communities across the country that know what it's like to deal with these phenomena," says the professor.

"But there have to be protective measures, which don't depend on individuals but on planning, safeguarding the territory and organising resources that are in the hands of local authorities or companies," he explains.

He adds that there are no "magic solutions" that work everywhere because the conditions up and down the coastline are different.

"Geographical conditions, people's preparedness for dealing with these phenomena and economic activities are different. Therefore, solutions have to be adapted to the circumstances in each case."

Breast implants, baby toys, paint: The surprising everyday sources of microplastics

Copyright Tai's Captures

By Rebecca Ann Hughes

Published on 09/04/2026 - EURONEWS

The report also found that some climate technology could actually make microplastic exposure worse.

Microplastics can enter our bodies from a variety of shocking everyday sources, a new report has revealed.

Dr Heather Leslie, the pioneering scientist who first found microplastics in the human bloodstream, describes it as a "microplastic storm" driven by poorly understood exposure pathways.

Hospital equipment for premature babies, children’s toys and paint all pose potential risks, the study found.

Breast implants to baby feeding tubes: Microplastics in hospitals

Exploring Everyday Microplastic Exposures, funded by Plastic Soup Foundation and The Flotilla Foundation and authored by Leslie, highlights the vast scale of microplastic exposure in daily life.

These particles endanger human health by accumulating in organs and increasing the risk of inflammation, cellular damage, cancer and cardiovascular issues.

Related

• How microplastics are chipping away at Earth’s ‘natural shield’ against climate change
• Tiny Fiddler crabs are hoovering up and breaking down microplastics, study finds

Drawing on over 350 peer-reviewed studies, the report maps microplastic release across five categories of everyday life: outdoor sources, indoor environments, children’s products, healthcare and personal care, and food and drink.

In hospitals, the research found that plastic particles can be introduced into the body via devices and treatments, with microplastic fallout in operating rooms recorded at up to 9,258 particles per square metre during a single shift.

Cardiac catheters, silicone breast implants, orthopaedic implants or intravenous fluid are all cited as sources with the potential of inadvertently dosing patients with microplastics.

Startlingly, premature babies fed intravenously in neonatal units are estimated to receive up to 115 microplastic particles over a 72-hour feeding period from the infusion circuits alone.

Children’s toys and paint: Microplastics at home

Children's products are also of significant concern, as building bricks, baby play mats and other products for children can release PET, polypropylene, polyethene and PVC into a child’s living environment.

As children naturally ingest more settled dust during play and breathe in more air per kilogram bodyweight, their exposure is proportionally higher than that of adults.

Baby formula intake also exposes babies to microplastics at levels from <1 to 17 microplastics per gram through packaging.

Another unexpected indoor exposure is via paint. Plastic is the main component of many paint products. As such, paint emits microplastics when it wears down or when old layers are scraped off.

A single coat applied across 100 square metres is estimated to contain between 17 and 68 quadrillion polymeric particles.

Climate technology could worsen microplastic exposure

Among the report's most striking findings is evidence that emerging climate interventions could make microplastic exposure significantly worse.

For example, stratospheric aerosol injection - a form of solar geoengineering being advanced by countries including the United Kingdom and the United States - involves dispersing vast quantities of particles high into the atmosphere.

Related

• Penguins are ingesting worrying amounts of white plastic. Could switching colours protect them?

Multiple patents already exist describing the release of particles, including micro-sized polymeric particles at altitudes of up to 20 km in the atmosphere, creating a potentially ‘tera scale’ source of intentionally added airborne microplastics and fallout

The research identifies that rainfall already contains microplastics with wear and tear from car tyres, synthetic textiles and clothing.

Plastic needs to stop being the ‘answer to every design question’

The report aims to empower people to reduce their own exposure through individual and collective action.

"Exposure is happening all the time, not only from products we recognise, but from systems and processes that most people would never consider,” says Leslie.

“This is not just about waste or environmental pollution, it is about the materials that manufacturers have built into our world, and the particles they continuously release into the spaces we live in.”

The report calls on policymakers to adopt a precautionary principle, accelerating health impact research and prioritising mitigation over 'paralysis by analysis.'

“When plastic stops being the answer to almost every design question - from teabags to towels to toys and beyond - humanity can end up successfully abating the microplastic storm," Leslie adds.

SPACE/COSMOS

 

Swiss researchers test robot dog designed to speed up Moon and Mars exploration

Copyright Credit: Dr. Tomaso Bontognali\

By Theo Farrant

Published on 09/04/2026 - EURONEWS

In recent trials, the dog-like robot completed missions three times faster than human-guided alternatives.

Swiss researchers are testing a semi-autonomous robot that could be used to explore Mars without constant human guidance, speeding up the search for minerals, water, and even traces of ancient life on other worldsor exoplanets.

The four-legged robot, named ANYmal, looks more like a robotic dog than a traditional rover. But strapped to its body is a robotic arm wielding a microscopic imager and a Raman spectrometer — a scanner that can read and identify the chemical fingerprint of a rock.

Researchers at the University of Basel have been putting ANYmal through its paces at their "Marslabor". This is a simulation facility designed to mimic the dusty and rocky surfaces of Mars and the Moon.

On the left: the robot performing autonomous measurements of a rock with MICRO and Raman. On the right: examples of images from the microscopic imager (MICRO). Credit: Dr Gabriela Ligeza.

The objective set for ANYmal was straightforward: navigate independently, identify rocks of scientific interest, analyse them, and transmit the results — all without human guidance.

In the trials, recently published in Frontiers in Space Technologies, the robot successfully analysed multiple rocks in sequence, identifying gypsum (a soft, sulfate mineral), carbonates, basalts, and lunar-analogue materials such as dunite and anorthosite.

ANYmal completed missions autonomously in just 12 to 23 minutes. A human operator doing the same job took 41 minutes. However, it should be noted that human oversight produced slightly more detailed and marginally higher accuracy.

Related

• Mars-bound fungus found in Chernobyl could shield astronauts from radiation in space

Current Mars rovers operate under near-constant supervision from Earth, covering only a few hundred metres per day. Employing a robot capable of making its own scientific decisions could dramatically accelerate the pace of exploration.

The study also reinforces that legged robots, which can step over obstacles and adjust to variable terrain, could reach scientifically valuable areas that wheeled rovers cannot.

Taken together, the research points toward a future in which robots like ANYmal are not just tools operated from afar, but active scientific participants, capable of independently hunting for biosignatures, the chemical traces that could indicate ancient life on faraway planets.

Astronomers have identified the most primitive star ever found

New research could lead to insights about the formation of the universe’s first stars

Johns Hopkins University

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In the exurbs of the Milky Way, near a satellite galaxy called the Large Magellanic Cloud, researchers have discovered the most metal-poor, chemically primitive star ever found, according to new research from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey.  

Findings from the survey are published in the journal Nature Astronomy. 

Composed primarily of hydrogen and helium and containing less than 0.005% of the metals in the Sun, the chemical makeup of the star SDSS J0715-7334 is the closest analog yet found to the first stars that formed in the universe. Studying this low-mass, ultra-metal-poor star could help clarify astronomers’ ideas about the first generation of stars, called Population III stars, which astronomers cannot observe directly. 

“No Population III stars have ever been observed, either because they were massive, lived fast, and died young, or the lowest-mass Population III stars that could persist to the present day are extremely rare.  Either way, the properties of this first stellar generation are some of the most important unknowns in modern astrophysics,” said co-author Kevin Schlaufman, an associate professor of physics and astronomy at Johns Hopkins University. Schlaufman originally identified SDSS J0715-7334 as a star of interest in 2014 for follow up as part of the current fifth generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. “While this star does not have a primordial composition itself, it is the closest astronomers have ever gotten to the Population III stellar generation on this particular metric.” 

SDSS J0715-7334 was formed from a gas cloud that had recently interacted with the material ejected by a Population III star’s supernova. Working backwards, astronomers can use the ratios of the elements in SDSS J0715-7334 to explore the mass of that Population III star and the energy of its supernova explosion. 

“These pristine stars are windows into the dawn of stars and galaxies in the universe,” said first author Alexander Ji, an assistant professor of astronomy and astrophysics at University of Chicago.  

A team of astronomers analyzed data gathered with the Magellan Clay Telescope and its high-resolution Magellan Inamori Kyocera Echelle spectrograph to determine that SDSS J0715-7334 is almost entirely hydrogen and helium with only trace amounts of carbon and iron.  

The composition of SDSS J0715-7334 indicates that the Population III star that produced its carbon and iron was both unusually massive and exploded with uncommon vigor, the researchers said.  

SDSS J0715-7334 is roughly 80,000 light years away in the vicinity of the Large Magellanic Cloud, the largest of the 100-200 small satellite galaxies that orbit the Milky Way. The Magellanic Clouds have only recently joined the Milky Way, and their long history of living alone has allowed them to ingest material from the cosmic web for a longer period than the Milky Way. Those conditions may have promoted the production of low-metallicity stars like SDSS J0715-7334. 

“It's possible that we’re going to find a relatively higher proportion of ultra-metal-poor stars in galaxies like the Magellanic Clouds than in our own Milky Way Galaxy,” said Schlaufman. 

As part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, the researchers will continue to study the Milky Way’s formation and evolution, with Schlaufman leading an effort to study the oldest stars in the Milky Way.   

“There is still lots to be done to understand what actually was going on in that era long, long ago when the Milky Way was young,” Schlaufman said. “We’ve only scratched the surface with this current phase of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey.” 

Authors include Vedant Chandra from the Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics; Selenna Mejias-Torres, Zhongyuan Zhang, Hillary Diane Andales, Ha Do, Natalie Orrantia, Rithika Tudmilla, Pierre N. Thibodeaux, and Guilherme Limberg from the University of Chicago; Philipp Eitner, and Maria Bergemann from the Max Planck Institute of Astronomy; Keivan Stassun from Vanderbilt University; Madeline Howell, and Jennifer Johnson from The Ohio State University; Jamie Tayar from University of Florida; Andrew Casey and Riley Thai from Monash University; Joleen K. Carlberg from Space Telescope Science Institute; William Cerny from Yale University; José Fernández-Trincado from Universidad Católica del Norte; Keith Hawkins from The University of Texas; Juna Kollmeier from Carnegie Institution for Science; Chervin Laporte from Sorbonne Université; Tadafumi Matsuno from Heidelberg University; Szabolcs Mészáros from Eötvös Loránd University; Sean Morrison from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; David Nidever from Montana State University; Guy Stringfellow from the University of Colorado; and Donald Schneider from The Pennsylvania State University. 

---

Journal

Nature Astronomy

DOI

10.1038/s41550-026-02816-7 

Article Title

A nearly pristine star from the Large Magellanic Cloud

Article Publication Date

8-Apr-2026

Alien Megastructures May Be Physically

Feasible, a New Study Suggests

Ivan Farkas
Wed, April 8, 2026 

ScienceAlert

(cokada/iStock/Getty Images)

Key takeaways

Alien megastructures capable of harvesting stellar energy or altering star orbits may be physically feasible, according to a recent analysis by Colin McInnes from the University of Glasgow.

These extraterrestrial constructions, such as stellar engines and Dyson bubbles, could remain stable for long periods if designed with specific configurations, potentially radiating distinctive technosignatures for astronomers to detect advanced civilizations.

McInnes' calculations suggest that stellar engines with a ring configuration and Dyson bubbles composed of a vast number of low-mass reflectors could achieve passive stability, offering insights into the search for extraterrestrial intelligence through the study of potential technosignatures.

Alien megastructures built to harvest stellar energy or alter the orbits of stars may be physically feasible, according to a new analysis – satisfying both our sci-fi fancies and our innate yearning to not feel so alone in a large, cold Universe.

What's more, these immense extraterrestrial constructions could remain stable for untold eons in the right configuration.

They might even radiate distinctive technosignatures, allowing astronomers to search for civilizations that have survived long enough to approach the upper echelons of the Kardashev Scale (which ranks civilizations based on their ability to harness energy).


The mind-boggling math underlying the idea is detailed in a recent study by Colin McInnes, an engineering scientist at the University of Glasgow who has previously modeled the feasibility of super-scale astronomical projects aiming to modify planetary orbits, for example.

Now, McInnes presents a simplified blueprint for engineering passively stable megastructures such as stellar engines and Dyson bubbles.

Scientists and science fictionists envision stellar engines as immense, reflective structures gravitationally coupled to a host star. In its simplest form, the concept is a flat disc, although McInnes finds that a ring-supported version may be more stable.

One possible interpretation of a stellar engine around a Sun-like star, to scale, featuring rings of Dyson swarms and a Shkadov thruster, which uses a star's own radiation to shift its orbit. (Vedexent/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 3.0)More

These engines use the pressure exerted by stellar radiation to shift that star's orbit and move entire solar systems across space – perhaps to avoid a civilization-killing cosmic catastrophe.

A Dyson bubble, on the other hand, surrounds a star with a dense swarm of reflectors to harvest its light and provide vastly more energy than any planetary process can provide.

A depiction of a Dyson swarm, or bubble, around a star. (Archibald Tuttle/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 3.0)

Any civilization that lives long enough will presumably run out of resources or time. As an inconvenient reminder, the Sun will gradually grow brighter and eventually make Earth uninhabitable.

So advanced civilizations will invariably need incomprehensible amounts of energy to terraform other planets, alter the orbits of celestial bodies, or power interstellar travel.

But can the imagined astro-scale megastructures – which astronomers have speculated could be ways advanced civilizations may harness energy – remain stable on their own, without requiring active control measures to keep from plummeting into their stars?

To find out, McInnes developed calculations that treat the megastructures as 3D objects, rather than point masses without dimensions.

These calculations suggest that stellar engines with a uniform mass distribution are always unstable. However, they may remain passively stable if they're made of a reflector supported by a ring that contains most of the structure's mass – picture a tambourine instead of a dinner plate.

Similarly, static Dyson bubbles may be inherently unstable. Yet a Dyson bubble – potentially built from a dismantled planetary system – may achieve passive stability if it's composed of a vast number of low-mass reflectors, forming a cloud that's tenuous yet dense enough to balance its own gravity with the forces exerted by the host star.

"A stellar engine can in principle be stabilized using a ring configuration while a Dyson bubble can in principle be stabilized if a vast number of reflectors are deployed in a dense cloud," McInnes writes.

Long-term stability also suggests the possibility of long-abandoned relic megastructures. The Universe is old and unpredictable, so even advanced beings may be outlived by their creations, which have survived unmaintained as symbols of their creator's ability (or folly).

Though these space ventures may seem otherwordly, McInnes' calculations are based on physical laws, so they offer hints of what to look for in the search for extraterrestrial civilizations.

Stellar megastructures would produce an infrared excess, or unexpected output in infrared wavelengths based on their star's properties, McInnes speculates.

Or, they could cause other types of odd alterations in their host star's spectral fingerprint.

"While such ventures are clearly speculative, understanding the orbital dynamics of ultra-large structures, and in particular the conditions for passive stability, can provide insights into the properties of potential technosignatures in SETI [search for extraterrestrial intelligence] studies," McInnes concludes.

This research was published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

ScienceAlert stories are written, fact-checked, and edited by humans, never generated by AI. 

 

EU pledges €700m to the Global Fund as cuts worldwide threaten international health aid

Copyright  Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

By Marta Iraola Iribarren

Published on 08/04/2026 - EURONEWS

The European Commission has lowered its contribution to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria as donors worldwide scale back contributions to global health aid.

The European Commission has pledged €700 million to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, to be implemented between 2027 and 2029

Of this amount, €185 million will be immediately available under the bloc's current long-term budget.

"Global health security is a shared responsibility and a strategic investment in our common future," Jozef Síkela, European Commissioner for International Partnerships, said after the announcement.

He added that the European Union confirms its commitment to strengthening health systems and global health resilience, and remains a reliable partner committed to international cooperation and long-term investment in global health.

The total amount raised by the Global Fund reached $12.64 billion (€10.82 billion), falling short of the $18 billion (€15.4 billion) target. The previous pledge for 2023–2025 raised $15.7 billion (€13.6 billion), the largest sum the fund has ever secured.

The Global Fund is one of the largest international organisations working to eradicate malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV. Every three years, it holds a so-called "replenishment", during which donors pledge new funding for a fresh cycle.

The Commission's latest pledge, unveiled at the One Health Summit in Lyon, marks a €15 million drop from the €715 million it provided from 2023 to 2025.

EU 'remains key partner'

Overall, the contribution of Team Europe, which encompasses the Commission and the European Union’s member states, reached more than €3 billion, down from the €4.3 billion raised during the previous period.

Germany committed €1 billion, compared to €1.3 billion in the last cycle, while Italy pledged €150 million, down from €185 million in 2022.

Relate

The Netherlands did increase the amount it contributed, from €180 million in 2022 to €195.2 million. However, its donation period will cover the period 2026–2029, one year longer than the previous cycle.

Still, the European Commission and EU member states remain among the Global Fund’s key partners, a Global Fund spokesperson told Euronews Health, "contributing more than €3 billion to the Eighth Replenishment, and around one third of total contributions since 2002."

The spokesperson added that the organisation is very grateful for the European Commission’s renewed commitment.

"It reaffirms Europe’s leadership in the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, and strengthens our shared efforts to drive innovation, market-shaping, and regional manufacturing, expanding access to lifesaving tools for those who need them most."

How will this money be used?

While welcoming all contributions, the Global Fund warned that the drop in funding threatens progress toward eradicating the three diseases, and noted that efforts to mobilise additional resources will continue.

Given the "resource-constrained environment", the organisation has shifted its focus towards the poorest countries with the heaviest disease burden to accelerate self-reliance.

"Supporting countries to transition away from Global Fund support is not new; what is new is the scale and pace of transition we are now driving," said Peter Sands, executive director of the Global Fund.

"We will work with countries to reinforce sustainability and accelerate their journey to self-reliance; supporting, incentivising, and, ultimately, getting out of the way."

Widespread cuts to global health

The Global Fund is not the only organisation experiencing funding cuts and witnessing the shifting priorities of international partners. Donors worldwide are cutting their contributions to global health and international aid.

The United States halted all humanitarian aid and dismantled its Agency for International Development (USAID). The country also officially withdrew from the World Health Organisation at the start of the year, a move later followed by Argentina.

Related

• Europe misses 1 out of 5 tuberculosis cases as drug resistance rises, health agencies warn

A recent study by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, estimated an additional 22.6 million deaths by 2030 if the current funding cuts continue.

This includes around 5.4 million children under the age of five across 93 low- and middle-income countries.

Health challenges persist

Malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV remain some of the most widespread and dangerous diseases across the globe.

More than 10.7 million people fell ill with tuberculosis (TB) worldwide, and around 1.2 million people died from the disease in 2024, according to the latest WHO data.

Globally, TB is the world’s leading cause of death from a single infectious agent, and among the top 10 causes of death.

According to the World Malaria Report 2025, malaria remains a serious global health challenge, with an estimated 282 million cases and 610,000 deaths in 2024, around 9 million more cases than the previous year.

HIV also remains a major global public health concern, with an estimated 40.8 million people living with HIV at the end of 2024, including 1.3 million new infections and 630,000 AIDS-related deaths annually.