Zelenskiy Says Ukraine’s Survival Rests on New Funds From Allies

In an exclusive interview with Bloomberg Television in Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said fresh European Union funding using frozen Russian assets is critical for sustaining his country's war effort, ramping up pressure on Brussels to end long-running divisions over the plan. Bloomberg

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(Bloomberg) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy implored European Union allies to overcome their divisions on the use of frozen Russian assets, saying fresh funding is critical for his war-battered economy to stay in the fight against Moscow.

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“I hope, God bless, we will get this decision,” Zelenskiy told Bloomberg Television in an interview late Wednesday in Kyiv. Otherwise, “We will have to find an alternative, it’s a question of our surviving. That’s why we need it very much. And I count on partners.”

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The EU has postponed until December a decision on tapping the Russian state assets to provide €140 billion ($162 billion) in loans to Ukraine, which needs new funding by early next year. 

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Russia in the meantime is slowly advancing on the battlefield and attacking Ukraine’s energy infrastructure to undermine its economy as the winter months approach. 

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Russia’s invasion has dragged well into its fourth year as Zelenskiy’s government deals with a battered economy and exhausted fighting forces in Europe’s worst conflict since World War II. There’s also been a shift away from unqualified Western support for Kyiv since President Donald Trump’s return to the White House. 

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With US funding halted, European governments have vowed to step up assistance to fend off a new threat from the Kremlin. 

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The bloc last month failed to overcome objections from Belgium, which holds the biggest share of the Russian funds and wants greater assurances that it won’t be liable for potential legal risks. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico also said Saturday that he won’t support any plan to seize the Kremlin’s assets “if those funds would be spent on military costs in Ukraine.”

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EU Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis warned last week that it must offer a “credible” funding commitment to Ukraine to unlock new International Monetary Fund support for Kyiv. The IMF has started talks with Ukraine on an aid package that could total $8 billion.

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“Russia has to pay for this war” — and money from frozen assets will help Ukraine to buy more air defenses from the US and Europe and finance its drone output to strike at Russian targets, Zelenskiy said. 

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“We don’t have additional money and this is the way — and this is fair,” the Ukrainian leader said. 

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He suggested Trump could send “a good signal” for European leaders to act by making use of billions in Russian assets frozen in the US. 

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Trump has “more than five billion of assets, maybe he will decide to spend this money — it’ll help,” Zelenskiy said. Past US actions such as energy sanctions had spurred “European partners also to some strong decisions,” he said. 

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The president disclosed that Ukraine has started producing interceptor drones together with the US. “American-Ukraine production, co-production,” he said. “I hope that in future we will have more.”