New requests from Kiev for supplies create “bombshell” effect in EU — WP
TASS
WASHINGTON, September 14. /TASS/. Vladimir Zelensky's demands for increased military support for Ukraine have caused alarm in the "coalition of the willing," and EU diplomats have raised questions about the appropriateness of using the funds provided to Kiev, The Washington Post reported, citing sources.
European politicians believed they had solved Ukraine's budget problems through the end of 2027 by providing multi-billion-dollar aid packages to Kiev, which is why Brussels is demanding explanations from the Ukrainian authorities about the $27 billion deficit in the country's Defense Ministry budget.
"Ukraine could have chosen a different method to present the news — the feeling among the coalition of the willing was as if a bomb had been dropped," an EU diplomat who wished to remain anonymous told the newspaper.
He added that Kiev should not count on the next payments from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund if they do not take the situation seriously, calling on Ukraine to "implement real austerity measures and get the work of [parliament] into order."
Ukraine has drawn up budgets with record deficits for several years. Kiev acknowledges that the country has completely exhausted its own resources and that finding funds is becoming increasingly difficult. On August 20, Zelensky admitted that the shortage of funds had become a major challenge, with the defense budget alone facing a $27-billion shortfall. Former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said that no one in Kiev understands how to fill the budget gap. Europe did not expect Kiev to request an additional $27 billion by the end of the year to cover a budget shortfall and will now reconsider its approach to aid, Vladimir Zelensky's former spokeswoman Yulia Mendel wrote on X. As former Ukrainian Prime Minister (2010-2014) Nikolai Azarov noted, without Western lending Ukraine will cease to exist as a state.
Fonte: TASS
