The president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, has called on the Verkhovna Rada for a consensus exercise to advance the key internal reforms that will allow access to the 30 billion euros in European aid aimed at covering the current shortfall in its military budget, a serious funding problem that, along with the lack of ballistic missiles, constitutes "the great challenge" that the country now faces in the war against Russia.
Brussels maintains its plan to raise 28.3 billion euros this year to boost the industrial defense capacity of Ukraine, framed within the package of European loans of 90 billion approved to support Kiev against the Russian invasion and respond to its "urgent military needs."
The obstacle lies in the fact that a Ukrainian parliamentary committee has stalled five legislative projects designed to strengthen the fight against corruption, one of the essential requirements demanded by the European Union for the disbursement of the loan.
"Here it is essential that Parliament functions, and I mean all of Parliament, including the opposition, because neither the Government nor the opposition have the 30 billion needed to defend this country," Zelensky pointed out in a message disseminated on social media.
In that same communication, the leader acknowledges a deficit in the budget of the Ministry of Defense of a similar amount; funds approved at the beginning of the year to pay war salaries, compensations to families, and accelerate the manufacturing of drones and other equipment, which will need to be reinforced in the second half of 2026.
Zelensky estimated that, of the expected amount, between 8 billion and 10 billion will be reserved for "a normal start to next year, because this money is effectively needed in advance, to provide weapons and everything necessary for January 2027," while the remaining 20 billion will be dedicated to supporting families and, again, to payments to the military.
In short, "we need a lot of money," acknowledged the Ukrainian president, who claims to already be working to "advance the second part of the European funds allocated to Ukraine, an extremely difficult task."