Zelensky thanks EU for €90 billion financing package
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked European leaders on Friday following their agreement on further financing for his country, which has been under attack from Russia since February 2022.
“This is significant support that truly strengthens our resilience,” he wrote in a post on X.
He stressed that “it is important that Russian assets remain immobilized” and that Ukraine receive financial guarantees for the coming years.
After months of dispute, EU member states reached a compromise in the early morning hours on Friday on financing Ukraine for the next two years, but without taking the controversial step of using frozen Russian assets straight away.
Under the deal, Ukraine will receive an interest-free loan of €90 billion ($105.5 billion).
If Russia does not pay compensation for war damage, frozen Russian assets in the EU are to be used to repay the loan.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was one of those who had initially sought to use Russian central bank funds frozen mainly in Belgium to provide loans of up to €210 billion. The plan ultimately failed, however, due to opposition from countries including France and Italy, after Belgium in particular raised major legal and political concerns.
