Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has stated that his country urgently requires financial assistance from Europe to sustain its defense against Russian forces for the next two to three years.
Since the full-scale invasion by Moscow in February 2022, Kyiv has depended heavily on military and financial backing from Western allies to withstand Russian advances.
“I emphasized this again to all European leaders. I told them that we will not fight for decades, but they must ensure stable financial support for a certain period,” Zelensky said in comments published on Tuesday.
He added that European partners already have a “2–3 year support program in mind”, referring to the EU’s plans to use frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine’s defense and recovery efforts.
Last week, EU leaders tasked the European Commission with exploring financing options for Ukraine for the next two years — including a potential large-scale credit package worth tens of billions of euros sourced from frozen Russian state assets.
“If the war ends within a month, we will use those funds for recovery. If it doesn’t, then we’ll spend them on weapons. We simply have no other choice,” Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian leader also urged U.S. President Donald Trump to pressure Chinese President Xi Jinping to end Beijing’s support for Moscow during their expected meeting later this week.
“I believe that could be one of Trump’s strongest moves — especially if, following decisive sanctions, China is ready to reduce its imports from Russia,” Zelensky told reporters, including AFP.
Trump recently announced sanctions on two major Russian oil companies and called on China and India to halt purchases of Russian energy, arguing that Moscow’s energy revenues continue to fund its war against Ukraine.
