Ukraine is ready to conduct peace talks anywhere except Russia and Belarus, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared on Tuesday. He also stressed that the country’s armed forces “will not retreat a single step” to give up territory. He added that Kiev will need financial support from Europe for the next two or three years to fight against Russia. TASR writes about it according to the AFP and Reuters agencies.
- Ukraine rejects peace talks in Russia and Belarus.
- Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for stable financial support for Europe.
- Zelensky’s discussion on the use of funds for reconstruction or weapons.
“I emphasized this again to all European leaders. I told them that we will not fight for decades, but you have to show that you will be able to provide stable financial support to Ukraine over a period of time,” Zelenskyy said in comments published on Tuesday.
Support from Europe
“And that’s why they have this program in mind – two to three years,” the Ukrainian president continued, referring to the European Commission’s (EC) proposal to gradually release frozen Russian assets to finance the so-called reparation loan for Kyiv.
At last week’s summit in Brussels, European leaders pledged to address Ukraine’s urgent financial needs for 2026-2027, including its military and defense efforts. They called on the EC to present financial support options based on an assessment of Ukraine’s needs as soon as possible. They will discuss the reparation loan at the meeting in December.
Money for restoration or weapons
“If the war ends in a month, we will spend this money on reconstruction. If it does not end in a month, but after some time, we will spend it on weapons. We simply have no other option,” Zelenskyy added.
In his comments, the Ukrainian president called on the United States to impose greater sanctions on Russia. He urged US President Donald Trump to put pressure on his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to reduce Beijing’s support for Moscow during their meeting this week.
“I think this can be one of (Trump’s) strong moves, especially if after this decisive step in the form of sanctions, China will be ready to limit imports” from Russia, Zelenskyy said.
United States and sanctions
Trump last week imposed sanctions on two major Russian oil companies. He calls on buyers of energy raw materials from Moscow – specifically China and India – to limit their purchases, which, according to Washington and Kiev, are financing the Russian invasion, AFP reminds.
