During a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized the need to increase sanctions pressure on Russia, while the head of the European Commission linked further budgetary support for Ukraine to the advancement of reforms in the Verkhovna Rada.
"I am grateful to Ursula for her willingness to work on adding additional Russian names to the EU sanctions lists," Zelenskyy said in a post shared on Facebook on Tuesday.
According to him, during the meeting, the parties also discussed in detail how to ensure Ukraine's financial stability this year and next. Zelenskyy said Ukraine is grateful for the decision regarding the EUR 90 billion EU loan and is fulfilling its related obligations to minimize the budget deficit as much as possible.
"We are grateful for the decision on the EUR 90 billion EU loan, and Ukraine is fulfilling its related obligations to close the budget deficit as much as possible. We agreed that our teams will explore other avenues of financial support," he said.
Following the meeting, Ursula von der Leyen said Europe is making greater efforts than ever before to strengthen Ukraine's defense. According to her, a new EU-Ukraine missile defense program could help rapidly increase production volumes.
"More defence support is coming. And as reforms in the Rada progress, more budget support too. We have EUR 37 billion still available in this calendar year," she said in a post on X social media platform.
Von der Leyen also said that in New York, she is calling on every leader to step up support for Ukraine's defense.
Separately, Zelenskyy and von der Leyen discussed the issue of sanctions. The president emphasized that, against the backdrop of Russian attacks on Ukraine, signals about lifting sanctions against certain Russian oligarchs appear "suicidal and counterproductive."
"Wars are ended by resolve and strength, not by concessions to the aggressor's cronies," Zelenskyy said.
