Zelensky asks EU for extra $79 billion to sustain Ukraine’s war effort

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday asked European Union leaders to provide Kyiv an extra 70 billion euros (US$79 billion) in funding next year to help it keep fighting Russia.

“The war will cost 155 billion euros next year. And we need at least 70 billion euros more from you – for defence, for weapons and for our resilience,” Zelensky said in a speech at an EU summit in Brussels.

“This is a realistic amount. And I ask you to find this support. It will help us hold Russia back.”

The EU - Ukraine’s biggest intentional backer – is currently paying out instalments of a 90-billion-euro loan for Kyiv that was set to help cover funding to the end of 2027.

But the Ukrainian authorities have warned they will still face a major budget black hole as Russian strikes have battered the country’s economy.

Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Thursday the European Union would have to find more money to finance Ukraine.

“We must do everything we can to help Ukraine through the winter and also to help next year,” Merz said at the start of a two-day summit of EU leaders in Brussels for crunch budget talks.

“We will have to increase the funds again here in order to really assist Ukraine on a lasting basis.”

The European Commission has said it is working with Kyiv to get a definitive figure for what is needed next year.

Diplomats said EU foreign ministers could hold discussions on the issue in December.

The talks around the new funding have reignited calls for the European Union to tap around 200 billion euros in frozen Russian central bank assets to fund Ukraine.

But there seems little momentum on that front as Belgium, where most of the funds are held, remains opposed.

The EU is meanwhile pushing other international backers of Ukraine – such as Britain, Canada and Japan – to come up with more money to help plug the gap.