Zelensky Thanks European Leaders for Financial Support to Kyiv
Zelensky thanks the European Union for €90 billion financial support to Kyiv over two years.
SUMMARY
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanks the European Council for approving financial support of €90 billion to Kyiv over the next two years, aiming to strengthen Ukraine's resilience against Russia, while emphasizing the importance of freezing Russian assets and ensuring Ukraine's financial security.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- European Council approves €90 billion financial support to Kyiv over two years.
- Zelensky emphasizes the importance of freezing Russian assets and ensuring Ukraine's financial security.
- European Union decides to provide cash lending to finance Ukraine's defense instead of using frozen Russian assets.
CORE SUBJECT
European Financial Support for Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the European Council on Friday for approving financial support of 90 billion euros (105.46 billion dollars) to Kyiv over the next two years.
Zelensky wrote in a post on the Telegram app: "This is significant support that truly strengthens our resilience," according to Reuters news agency.
Zelensky said, "It is important that Russian assets remain frozen and that Ukraine receives a financial security guarantee for the coming years."
European Union leaders decided on Friday to provide cash lending to finance Ukraine's defense against Russia over the next two years instead of using the frozen Russian assets, overcoming divisions over an unprecedented plan to fund Kyiv with Russian sovereign funds.
The European Union froze the local assets of the Russian central bank in 2022 as part of sanctions imposed on Moscow due to its war in Ukraine.
So far, the EU has used the proceeds from these assets—mostly bonds—to finance part of its support to Kyiv.
However, on December 3, the European Commission revealed a proposal that goes further, calling for using the majority of the assets to provide a loan to the war-torn country.
The EU's executive arm referred to this principal amount, along with interest and other revenues from the assets, as "cash balances," since the bonds convert to cash upon maturity.
KEYWORDS
MENTIONED ENTITIES 6
Volodymyr Zelensky
👤 Person_MaleUkrainian President
European Council
🏛️ OrganizationEuropean Union body that approved the financial support
European Union
🏛️ OrganizationPolitical and economic union that decided to provide support to Ukraine
Russian Central Bank
🏛️ OrganizationInstitution whose local assets were frozen by the European Union
Russia
📍 Location_CountryCountry facing Ukraine in the war
Ukraine
📍 Location_CountryCountry benefiting from European financial support
NOTABLE QUOTES 2
"This is significant support that truly strengthens our resilience"
Context: Post on the Telegram app
"It is important that Russian assets remain frozen and that Ukraine receives a financial security guarantee for the coming years"
Context: Statement regarding European financial support