Ukraine has a significant need for funding from its European partners. The money is needed, among other things, for soldiers’ salaries, as in the first half of the year some of the funds earmarked for army pay were used for drones.
Overall, there has been a systematic rise in the cost of the war. More weapons and interceptors are needed each day than before, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy explained at a briefing in the United States, a recording of which was released by the President’s Office.
The funds are divided into several “layers”. The first is €45bn (half of the EU loan allocated for this year). Part of it is tied to draft laws that must be approved by the Verkhovna Rada.
“I explained that parliament will support them, but it is impossible to expect parliament to work the way it does in a normal country in normal, peacetime conditions,” he said, adding that drone attacks force MPs to stay in bomb shelters.
That is why he discussed greater flexibility on the dates for adopting the laws needed to receive the funds with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Ukraine will also send a financial team to the EU to consider how to secure part of the money from the second tranche planned for next year.
“Because we need money for drones. There’s nothing you can do about it. The third issue is linked to salaries. The war is ongoing, the military are paid. In the first half of the year, some of the money from this budget was taken and given to drones. Now we need to fill that gap,” the president said.
He described the meeting with the European Commission President as very positive and said he did not understand why the press had called it difficult.
- Earlier, the president said the defence ministry’s budget shortfall for this year amounted to $27bn. Mykhailo Fedorov, who headed the ministry during that period, noted that he did not know where the stated figure came from.