Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on EU allies to overcome disagreements over the use of frozen Russian assets, stating that new financing is critically important for the war-affected Ukrainian economy to withstand the fight against Moscow.
Zelensky made these remarks in an interview with Bloomberg Television late on Wednesday, according to Ukrinform.
“I hope, God bless, we will get this decision,” Zelensky said, adding that 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,” he emphasized.
It is noted that the EU has postponed a decision on using Russian state assets to provide Ukraine with loans of EUR 140 billion until December, even though new financing is needed before the beginning of next year.
Zelensky stressed that “Russia has to pay for this war,” and money from frozen assets will help Ukraine purchase more air defense systems from the U.S. and Europe and finance the production of drones for strikes on Russian targets.
“We don’t have additional money and this is the way — and this is fair,” he said, referring to the use of Russian assets.
He suggested that U.S. President Donald Trump could send a “good signal” to European leaders to act by using billions of Russian assets frozen in the U.S.
Trump reportedly has “more than five billion of assets, maybe he will decide to spend this money — it’ll help,” Zelensky said.
He noted that previous U.S. actions, such as energy sanctions, also prompted “European partners also to some strong decisions.”
As Ukrinform reported, the United States fully supports the EU’s intention to use frozen Russian assets as a tool to support Ukraine and end the war.
French Minister of Economy and Finance Roland Lescure stated that EU countries have reached a common understanding on how to quickly launch a scheme to use frozen Russian assets for Ukraine, leaving only technical details to be resolved at the European Commission level.