The president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, has requested this Friday from the partners of the European Union a minimum of 70 billion euros to bolster his country's resistance against the Russian invasion next year, a figure he has described as a "realistic amount" after meeting in Brussels with the heads of state and government.
"The war will cost 155 billion euros next year and we need at least 70 billion from you for defense, for weapons, and for our resilience. It is a realistic amount, and I ask you to find this support, which will help keep Russia back," he stated during his speech at the European Council.
The Ukrainian leader has reiterated his willingness for the conflict to end "as soon as possible," although he lamented that his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, "plans to stay much longer" because "he is building a Russia that looks like North Korea," where "children are raised from a young age for war and to die for their leader."
"So Russia will not cease to be dangerous. And it is our strength, our army, our technologies that also help ensure European security, your security. These security guarantees are not yet reflected," he asserted.
In this context, Zelensky has demanded that Ukraine's defense capabilities be integrated into the next budget of the European Union, the so-called Multiannual Financial Framework, for which European leaders have set the goal of concluding negotiations in December of this year.