KYIV (Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday he was confident the U.S. would not “betray” his country by withholding crucial wartime funding as it fights off a Russian invasion.
Aid for Ukraine has been held up by Republicans in the U.S. Congress, and the White House has warned that it will run out by the end of the year if not renewed.
“We are working very hard on this, and I am certain the United States of America will not betray us, and that on which we agreed in the United States will be fulfilled completely,” Zelenskiy said during a televised press briefing in Kyiv.
He added that financial assistance was key to Ukraine’s defence from Moscow’s full-scale attack, which is nearing its two-year mark and showing no signs of abating.
“They should know, our American partners, that we’re waiting for this aid. They know the details of what it’s needed for, how it will influence (the situation),” he said.
He also said he expected the European Union to approve a 50 billion euro aid package soon. EU leaders approved the launch of membership negotiations, but Hungary blocked the aid package.
“I’m confident that we have already achieved all this,” Zelenskiy said. “The question now is one of a certain matter of time.”
Ukraine hopes to plug a $43 billion budget deficit next year mostly with foreign aid, including 18.5 billion euros from the European Union and more than $8 billion from a U.S. package that also contains vital military assistance.
(Reporting by Dan Peleschuk, Pavel Polityuk; editing by Christina Fincher and Ed Osmond)
