EU tells Zelenskyy to strengthen rule of law in Ukraine before any more monetary aid comes

European Union officials have told Ukraine they need to see progress on new legislation to curb the shadow economy, bolster tax revenue and move closer to EU law before they’ll dispense more funding.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had a tense meeting with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the United Nations in New York Tuesday, according to a person briefed on the discussions.

The Ukrainians voiced concern about the prospects of Russian escalation over the winter with limited air defences to shield their cities, the person said. They were outraged at the EU agreeing to remove sanctions on two Russian oligarchs as part of a deal to extend sanctions.

“More defence support is coming. And as reforms in the Rada progress, more budget support too,” von der Leyen said in a post on X following the meeting, referring to Ukraine’s parliament. “We have €37 billion (euros) still available in this calendar year.”

After more than four years of all-out war, tensions are starting to emerge between Kyiv and key supporters as they confront the prospect of another brutal winter under Russian attack. Ukraine is growing frustrated with the reluctance of some European allies to supply crucial interceptors that Kyiv can deploy against Russian missiles, while the Europeans are grating at increased demands for financing.

Ukraine has asked allies to help plug an unforeseen budgetary hole of about US$30 billion and asked the EU to speed up the disbursement of a US$104 billion loan. That aid money was intended to see Ukraine through to the end of next year.

The EU has been pushing back against some of the Ukrainian figures and suggested that other partners — including Canada, Norway and Japan — should provide any additional funding. Zelenskyy told reporters that their teams would meet again in seven to 10 days for further talks on the issue and he is hopeful a solution will be found.

He said that for the first time Europeans shared they saw “increasing risks of Russian aggressive steps against other European countries.”

After meeting U.S. President Donald Trump, Zelenskyy said he was ready for an energy truce with Russia as a first step toward ending the war — provided Moscow stopped its own attacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure.

He said he asked Trump to convey this position to the Russians and to engage China’s Xi Jinping on the issue as well, as he believes the Chinese president has sway over Moscow. Trump is hosting Xi in Washington this week.

Trump has been pushing both Ukraine and Russia to halt strikes on energy infrastructure, arguing it has been pushing up the price of diesel in the U.S. Those price rises have primarily emerged since the U.S. began attacking Iran in February.

Zelenskyy said he asked Trump for a winter package of Patriot air-defence missiles and for licenses to produce the interceptors in Ukraine. He acknowledged there is a global shortage of those missiles and said that, while his focus was on the U.S., Ukraine would also ask partners in the Middle East.

He said he had met with representatives RTX Corp.’s Raytheon and that they are ready to provide licenses for Ukraine to manufacture its own interceptors. Still, those facilities may not be ready to start production for at least a year, he said.

In a bid to persuade allies to hand over their supplies, Zelenskyy has promised to replace interceptors once a joint production plant with Germany is up and running next year.