President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy's meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in New York was tense due to disagreements regarding further budgetary and defense support for Ukraine, Bloomberg reports.
"EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had a tense meeting with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the United Nations in New York Tuesday, according to a person briefed on the discussions.The Ukrainians voiced concern about the prospects of Russian escalation over the winter with limited air defenses to shield their cities, the person said," the report states.
EU representatives, in turn, told Ukraine that before allocating additional funding, they needed to see progress in drafting new legislation to combat the shadow economy, increase tax revenues, and bring Ukrainian legislation closer to EU laws.
The Ukrainian side also expressed outrage over the EU's decision to lift sanctions against two Russian oligarchs as part of an agreement to extend sanctions.
It is noted that Ukraine asked allies to help close an unexpected budgetary gap of about EUR 26 billion ($30 billion) and urged the EU to accelerate the disbursement of a EUR 90 billion loan, which is intended to provide Ukraine with funding until the end of next year.
The EU opposed some of Ukraine's calculations and suggested that any additional funding be provided by other partners, in particular Canada, Norway, and Japan.
As reported, Zelenskyy also stated that Ukraine was working with the EU to cover the defense funding deficit. According to him, the Ukrainian and European sides are preparing relevant decisions, and their teams are scheduled to meet in 7 to 10 days.
In addition, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen earlier, following her conversation with the President of Ukraine, linked further budgetary support for Ukraine to the advancement of reforms in the Verkhovna Rada.
Following the meeting, von der Leyen stated that Europe was making greater efforts than ever before to strengthen Ukraine's defense, adding that a new EU-Ukraine missile defense program could help rapidly scale up production volumes.
"Even more defense support is coming your way. And as reforms advance in the Verkhovna Rada, more budget support follows. We still have EUR 37 billion left this calendar year," she wrote in a post on the social media platform X.
