Ukraine has expressed confidence it will receive a €50bn aid package from the EU, despite Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, vetoing the funding at a crucial summit in Brussels.
In a statement, the foreign ministry in Kyiv shrugged off Orbán’s blocking tactics. It said it expected “all necessary legal procedures” to be completed at an EU summit in January, with the aid delivered “as soon as possible”.
“This is a clear signal that the financial support of Ukraine from the EU will continue,” it said. It added that the cash would be used to “modernise” the state and speed up its integration into the EU bloc.
Hungary’s veto topped a rollercoaster week for Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in which he attended the inauguration ceremony for Argentina’s new president and scrambled to Washington to meet President Joe Biden and leading US Republicans.
After talks in the Oval Office, Biden announced a new $200m drawdown in security assistance to Kyiv. Zelenskiy’s talks with the Republican speaker of the US Congress, Mike Johnson, were less fruitful.
Afterwards, Johnson made it clear his party would continue to obstruct a $61bn aid package to Ukraine. Last week, Senate Republicans voted down the supplemental funding bill, which includes support for Israel and Taiwan, as well as provisions to bolster US border security.
Zelenskiy received better news in Oslo, where he met Scandinavian leaders. Denmark has pledged €1bn in military assistance, with Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland promising their own bilateral packages.
Despite setbacks in the US, Zelenskiy was able to celebrate on Thursday when the EU opened accession talks with Kyiv. This unforeseen agreement came after Orbán left the room, ostensibly to go and get a coffee. In his absence, the other 26 EU member states voted for negotiations to start.
Zelenskiy hailed the decision as a “victory” for ordinary Ukrainian citizens – “boys, girls, men and women” – fighting against Russia, two years after Vladimir Putin’s all-out invasion. Ukraine’s accession to the EU – once seen as an impossible prospect – had come a step closer, he suggested.
Right now in Ukraine, a lot of us are feeling really uplifted, and it’s a big deal – it keeps us going. I want to say a huge thank you – to each of you for everything we’ve managed to accomplish! To all those who strengthen Europe by the unity of Ukraine. A special gratitude to… pic.twitter.com/uCnqU5Y5Le
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) December 15, 2023
“This is a massive job – to integrate the state, all the institutions, all the norms into the European Union. But we will do it. Ukraine has repeatedly proved what we are capable of,” he said, speaking from the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. He praised the “heroic courage” of his country’s people.
The show of support from the EU was widely welcomed in Ukraine. Presidential aide Mikhailo Podolyak said the decision “nullifies Russia’s bet” that Europe would eventually abandon Kyiv. It demonstrated that the EU was willing to “defend its values and principles”, he said.
Illia Ponomarenko, an influential commentator with 1.2 million followers on X, said the aid would help his country “prevail in dark times”.
So much news about nations sending aid to 🇺🇦Ukraine these days…. Thank you, dear friends from across the world.
— Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦 (@IAPonomarenko) December 15, 2023
We will prevail through this dark time together and get a better tomorrow for us all and our kids.
The diplomatic moves come as Russia seeks to take further territory in the east, and follows the failure of Ukraine’s own counter-offensive in the southern Zaporizhzhia province. The Russian army is attacking all across the Donbas region and has launched a major assault on the city of Avdiivka.
Russian troops have amassed at the city on three sides. They are attempting to cut off the only access road used by Ukraine’s armed forces. Ukrainian commanders say they are holding on – for now. But they admit they are outgunned, with fewer deliveries of ammunition from western partners.
