Ukraine’s Zelensky urges European and US allies to unblock aid
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaking to journalists after a press conference at the Nordic Summit in Oslo on Dec 13.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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OSLO – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Dec 13 urged allies in Europe and the US to keep backing Kyiv, as disputes in Brussels and Washington hold up new aid packages.
The Ukrainian leader also took part in talks in Oslo with the leaders of the five Nordic countries on the eve of an important European Union meeting in Brussels.
“You can’t win without help,” Mr Zelensky told reporters, after talks with Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store earlier on Dec 13.
In both the US and the EU, internal disagreements are holding up aid packages for Ukraine
With the counter-offensive launched by Ukraine in July failing to yield the anticipated results, Mr Zelensky is trying to bolster support.
In particular, he is counting on the Nordic countries to help finance Ukraine’s manufacture of Nato-compatible weapons.
After his meeting with them, he said: “What Europe can do is the same as what the Nordic countries are doing.”
Nordic support
Since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the five Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden) say they have given about €11 billion (S$16 billion) in aid to Ukraine.
In an op-ed published on Dec 13 in the Financial Times, the five leaders said “now is not the time to tire”.
Norway announced earlier in 2023 a civilian and military aid package of €6.8 billion to Ukraine from 2023 to 2027.
On Wednesday, Oslo announced it was donating just over €250 million to Ukraine as part of this package, as well as new and much-needed anti-air defence weapons.
Ukraine is facing heavy Russian bombing.
A Russian missile strike on Kyiv during the early hours of Dec 13 wounded more than 50 people.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said her government would on Dec 14 propose a new package of military aid to Ukraine worth almost €1 billion.
Key EU talks
When they meet in Brussels from Dec 14, European leaders will discuss the opening of EU membership talks with Ukraine and a push to give Kyiv €50 billion in aid over the next four years.
But they face opposition from Hungary, Russia’s closest ally in the bloc.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Dec 13 that opening EU membership talks with Kyiv would be a “terrible mistake”.
“I am willing to make financial deals on financial issues, but I am not willing to make strategic or policy deals on financial issues,” he said. He did not specify whether he was referring to aid for Ukraine.
Mr Zelensky said Mr Orban had “no reason” to block Kyiv from joining the EU.
“I asked him to tell me one reason why. Not three, not five, not 10. Tell me one reason,” Mr Zelensky told reporters in Oslo of his talks with Mr Orban.
“I’m waiting for (an) answer.”
The Ukrainian President arrived in Oslo early on Dec 13 after a visit to the United States, where he made a last-ditch plea for more military aid.
A divided Congress is still to approve a fresh US$60 billion (S$80 billion) aid package.
US President Joe Biden said he had approved a further US$200 million in US military aid to tide Ukraine over the coming weeks.
But without a deal in Congress, funding could dry up by the end of the year, the White House warned.
US Republicans are insisting that renewing Ukraine aid depends on Democrats agreeing to measures on US-Mexico border security and immigration reform.
Moscow meanwhile has claimed fresh battlefield advances and predicted on Dec 12 that any new assistance for Kyiv would be a “fiasco”. AFP
