Zelenskyy: Europe would pay in blood if Ukraine does not get funding

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that it is in Europe's interests to support Ukraine financially because otherwise the risk of the war spreading to the EU rises sharply.

When answering the question from a Polish journalist, Zelenskyy said that he supports the position voiced by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk that the military threat to Europe would grow if support for Ukraine is reduced.

"If Ukraine is not supported and is left alone, Ukraine may not withstand it and then Europe will pay not with money but with blood," Zelenskyy said at a press conference after attending a European Council meeting.

Zelenskyy said that a negative turn of events would affect the supply of equipment to the front.

"If Ukraine doesn't receive a tranche in spring, drone production in Ukraine will be reduced many times over," he said.

Zelenskyy added that the approximate parity between Ukraine and Russia in drones would then be lost.

"If there is peace, Ukraine will use this money for reconstruction," he concluded.

It was reported earlier that Belgium continues to resist a decision on confiscating the assets. The Belgian prime minister has said that he "hasn't yet seen a text that Belgium could agree to".

Diplomats from European Union member states had reached a tentative agreement on using frozen Russian assets to provide Ukraine with a "reparations loan" in 2026-2027, but the final decision is to be taken by EU leaders at the European Council meeting.