Zelenskyy hopes for political agreement from EU leaders on €35 billion loan

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hopes to receive political approval from EU leaders for a €35 billion loan financed by frozen Russian assets under the G7 initiative.

Zelenskyy noted at a European Council meeting in Brussels that the topic of this loan would be one of the issues discussed at the leaders' summit. 

"When we had a very long pause without military support, in fact, our domestic production of drones and electronic systems helped a lot. We need funds for this.

Part of this money from Russian assets is very necessary for us to use in our domestic production. We want to get some of these funds as soon as possible," the President said. 

Zelenskyy expressed hope that the leaders would make a political decision on €35 billion for Ukraine and that no country would block it.

"It [this decision] depends only on the unity of the EU leaders. If someone can let this decision go through, I think it will help... And I think the leaders can make it happen," he added.

The €35 billion loan is part of a plan agreed by the G7 at a June summit to provide Ukraine with a US$50 billion loan through the taxation of excess profits from Russia's frozen assets.

The proposal was supported by the Council of the European Union on 9 October, despite opposition from Hungary .

On 14 October, the European Parliament's Committee on International Trade approved the European Commission's proposal to provide Ukraine with a €35 billion loan.