Zelensky: Ukraine expects 30 billion euros from the EU
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced that the country's Defense Ministry budget deficit has reached $27 billion. He said that Kiev expects to receive €30 billion from the European Union's €90 billion two-year loan to finance defense spending.
Zelensky: Ukraine expects 30 billion euros from EU
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has identified Russia's ballistic missile attacks and defense financing as two of the country's main challenges.
Zelensky made the statement on August 23 during a visit to Kyiv by the leaders of Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Finland and Estonia.
According to the Ukrainian leader, the country expects 30 billion euros from the European Union. These funds are planned to be allocated by the European Union within the framework of a two-year 90 billion euro loan program.
Zelensky stressed that the allocation of funds is conditional on the adoption of relevant legislation. Therefore, he called on the Ukrainian parliament, including representatives of the opposition, to actively participate in making the necessary decisions.
"Neither the government nor the opposition have these 30 billion. But these funds are necessary for the defense of the entire country," the Ukrainian President said.
Zelensky said that the budget deficit of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry is currently $27 billion, which is more than 23.1 billion euros.
He said that the deficit was caused, among other things, by overspending in the first half of the year.
According to the president's calculations, $8-10 billion is needed to prepare the Ukrainian army by January 2027. Another $20 billion will be needed to pay salaries to servicemen, make payments to the families of fallen soldiers, and cover other defense costs.
Zelensky said that he was negotiating with France and Germany on this issue. He noted that it is necessary to accelerate the allocation of the second tranche of European funds previously earmarked for Ukraine.
Zelensky's statement coincided with a visit to Kyiv by the leaders of the six countries that make up the "North-Baltic Eight" (NB8) format - Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Finland and Estonia.
The visit comes on the eve of Ukraine's Independence Day - August 24.
According to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibikha, the leaders of European countries will hold bilateral and multilateral talks with Zelensky. He said that "important decisions will be made and important statements will be made" following the meetings.
At the same time, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre announced that his government would submit to the country's parliament a proposal to allocate 85 billion Norwegian kroner - about 8 billion euros - for Ukraine in 2027. Oslo allocated the same amount to Kiev in 2026.