Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country needs continued financial support from Europe to sustain the fight against Russian forces for another two to three years.
Kyiv has relied heavily on military and financial assistance from its allies to resist Moscow’s army since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
“I emphasized this again to all European leaders. I told them that we will not fight for decades, but you must show that, for some time, you can provide stable financial support for Ukraine,” Zelensky said in comments published on Tuesday.
“And that’s exactly why they have this plan in mind – two to three years,” he added, referring to Brussels’ plans to use frozen Russian assets to help fund Ukraine.
Last week, EU leaders tasked the European Commission with continuing work on financing options for Ukraine for another two years, including a potential large-scale loan using tens of billions of euros from frozen Russian state assets.
“If the war ends within a month, we’ll use that money for recovery. If it doesn’t end within a month, but later, then we’ll use it for weapons. Simply, we have no other choice,” Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian leader also urged U.S. President Donald Trump to pressure his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to stop supporting Russia when the two meet later this week.
“I think this could be one of [Trump’s] strongest moves, especially if, after this decisive step with sanctions, China is ready to reduce imports from Russia,” Zelensky told reporters, including AFP, at a press conference on October 28.
Last week, Trump imposed sanctions on two major Russian oil companies and called on energy buyers—especially China and India—to halt purchases, arguing that Russian energy revenues are directly funding the war against Ukraine.
