Zelenskyy ties Ukraine aid to reparations, calls US key to stopping Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that the disbursement of the €90 billion allocated to Ukraine will be directly linked to the issue of reparations that Russia must pay for launching the war.

Speaking in remarks cited by the Polish Press Agency (PAP), Zelenskyy stressed that holding Russia financially accountable is essential not only in economic terms, but also from a moral and legal standpoint.

“It is extremely important—not only from a financial perspective, but also from a moral and legal one—that Russia be held accountable for starting this war. All this money is, in one way or another, connected to the issue of reparations. <…> This is critically important. We are convinced that Russia must be punished for all the evil it has brought to our land,” he said.

Zelenskyy also addressed statements by Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding what Moscow describes as the root causes of the war. According to the Ukrainian leader, such explanations are merely attempts to justify aggression rather than genuine analysis.

“Putin is not looking for the root cause of the war, but for an excuse. Tomorrow he may say it is because of NATO, even though Ukraine has never been a member of NATO. Then he may claim that even an invitation to join NATO already poses a risk to Russia. Now he is talking about buffer zones. For this person, everything serves as a justification for demonstrating his aggression. He is looking for excuses within his own society,” Zelenskyy stated.

He added that the Russian leader has no intention of ending the war, either with Ukraine or more broadly. “Putin absolutely does not want to end this war, and moreover, he does not even want to end the war only with Ukraine. He wants to go further,” Zelenskyy said.

Turning to the question of who is capable of stopping Russia, the Ukrainian president emphasised the role of the United States, describing Washington as a key actor and expressing gratitude for its readiness to work toward ending the conflict. “The United States is one of such players,” he noted.

Zelenskyy also spoke about defence-industrial cooperation with Poland, highlighting drones as a central focus of current discussions. “Today, we are talking most about drones. There is a strong interest and many European programs that finance the defence of individual countries, as well as cooperation projects with Ukraine. We are interested in jointly producing drones with Poland,” he said.

In addition, the Ukrainian leader commented on the recent corruption scandal involving Energoatom, drawing a distinction between Ukraine and Russia in how such cases are handled. “We differ from Russia in that we prosecute crimes, professionals conduct investigations, and the media report on them. This is proof of Ukraine’s openness and its fight against manifestations of corruption. Of course, risks exist in every country, especially during wartime,” Zelenskyy assured.

Separately, Zelenskyy acknowledged growing difficulties in Ukraine’s path toward NATO membership, again in comments reported by PAP. He said the process has become more complicated due to the absence of clear backing from the United States.

“Today, our NATO membership has become more difficult because we currently do not see support from the United States, and this is certainly a challenge,” the Ukrainian president concluded.

Tamilla Hasanova