President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for more European Union financial support so that Ukraine can continue fighting Russian forces for another two or three years.
In comments released on Tuesday, October 28th. Zelensky stated
I emphasised this again to all European leaders. I told them that we are not going to fight for decades, but you must show that for some time you will be able to provide stable financial support to Ukraine.
“And that is why they have this program in mind: 2-3 years,” Zelensky added, referring to Brussels’ plans to tap frozen Russian assets to help Kyiv.
Since the war began in February 2022, Kyiv has been largely dependent on military and financial support from allies abroad to hold off Moscow’s army,
EU leaders last week tasked the European Commission to move ahead with options for funding Ukraine for two more years, leaving the door open for a colossal loan using tens of billions of euros in Russian state assets that the bloc has frozen. Zelensky commented:
If the war ends in a month, we will spend this money on recovery. If it does not end in a month, but after some time, then we will spend it on weapons. We simply have no other choice.
The Ukrainian leader also urged U.S. president Donald Trump to pressure Chinese leader Xi Jinping to cut his support for Russia when the two leaders meet later this week.
“I think this may be one of (Trump’s) strong moves, especially if, following this decisive sanctions step, China is ready to reduce imports” (from Russia), Zelensky told journalists at a briefing released on October 28th.
Trump hit two major Russian oil companies with sanctions last week and has been urging buyers of Moscow’s energy exports, specifically China and India, to cut their purchases—transactions that Kyiv and now Washington claim are funding Russia’s war drive.
As the conflict drags into its fourth year, Russia is pushing forward across the front line, at significant cost. Zelensky conceded that Russian forces have gained a foothold in the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, an important former rail hub that Moscow has been trying to capture for over a year.
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