This week was a week of disappointment for the Ukrainian leader in terms of financial support, says the Financial Times.
EU leaders "missed the mark" by failing to agree on a €50 billion aid package for Ukraine at a summit in Brussels, a Western diplomat told the news outlet.
An EU official said that Kiev has liquidity through January, but after that, it will get "a little tight," which is why Ukraine is "right to be nervous."
"Ukraine has liquidity through January, but it gets a little tight after that. We need to move quickly," the EU official. "Ukraine is right to be nervous. It's not a comfortable situation at all."
Michal Baranowski of the German Marshall Fund think tank in Warsaw said the EU summit marked "a bittersweet moment in the EU's relations with Ukraine."
"The EU's decision to open negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova is truly historic, even if it's only the beginning of a long road. The bitterness comes from Hungary's decision to veto the €50 billion financial package, which is crucial for the financial health of the Ukrainian state," Baranowski said, as quoted by the media.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Washington this week to lobby Congress to approve more aid for Ukraine, as current funding is set to run out at the end of the year. However, legislation to approve more funding for Ukraine is stuck in negotiations, as Republicans refuse to support President Joe Biden's $106 billion supplemental request, which includes $61 billion for Ukraine, until they see "credible" border policy changes added to the bill.
US President Joe Biden was forced to downgrade the US pledge of support for Kiev from "as long as it takes" to "as long as we can."
Earlier, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said his country had blocked €50 billion in macro-financial assistance to Ukraine for 2024-2027. He added that releasing the money to Kiev would hurt Budapest more than EU membership negotiations. In addition, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer opposed the start of negotiations on Ukraine's EU membership under the current conditions. In his opinion, Ukraine should not be favored against the background of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is also negotiating EU membership.