The Ukrainian leader shared his assessment with Donald Tusk as the EU scrambles to secure more funding to support Kiev
Vladimir Zelensky expects Ukraine to be able to fight Russia for up to three more years, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has told the Sunday Times. The Ukrainian leader’s reported remark comes as the EU looks for new ways to fund Kiev, eyeing Russia’s frozen central bank assets as an option.
In an interview with the British newspaper on Saturday, Tusk quoted Zelensky as saying that “he hopes that the war will not last ten years, but that Ukraine is ready to fight for another two, three years.” Should the conflict with Russia drag on longer, Zelensky is “anxious about the toll the war would take on its population and economy,” the Polish prime minister said.
On Tuesday, the Spanish newspaper El Pais reported that “Ukraine has serious financial problems.” The outlet wrote, citing anonymous EU sources, that Kiev only has enough money to stay afloat “until the end of the first quarter of 2026.”
On Wednesday, the Ukrainian parliament passed a draft budget for 2026, which runs a deficit of over 58%.
In recent weeks, EU leaders have intensified discussions over a so-called “reparations loan” of up to €140 billion ($163 billion) for which the frozen Russian assets would serve as collateral. Under the scheme, Ukraine would be required to repay the loan only if Moscow compensates it for damages inflicted during the conflict.
The bloc has already tapped into the revenues generated by the immobilized Russian assets.
Moscow has described this as “theft” and has vowed to retaliate. Following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, the US and EU blocked an estimated $300 billion in Russian assets – around €200 billion ($213 billion) of which is being held by the Brussels-based clearinghouse Euroclear.
Belgium has repeatedly objected to the proposed plan, demanding that the risk be shared among all EU members in case the scheme backfires. On Thursday, Prime Minister Bart De Wever told reporters that his country’s concerns have not been adequately addressed.
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