Ukraine expects unblocking of the EU tranche worth €500 mln - Zelenskyy
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Photo: president.gov.ua)
Ukraine is expecting the unlocking of the eighth tranche from the European Union for military assistance amounting to 500 million euros, according to a statement by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a meeting of the foreign ministers of EU member states.
He thanked the EU for the initiative to create a separate defense segment of 20 billion euros within the European Peace Facility to support our defense needs. The President emphasized the importance of the rapid practical implementation of this initiative.
"We also expect the unlocking and allocation of the 8th tranche of assistance for 500 million euros within the European Peace Facility," he said.
Zelenskyy also stated that the implementation of the European strategy for the supply of artillery shells requires acceleration. This includes joint procurement and the increase of production capacities of the European defense industry.
"We all need to understand: this has not only security significance because Russia convinces not only with force but also with economic significance. The stronger the industrial potential of Europe, the better it is for Europeans," he said.
Blocking the EU tranche
Hungary has regularly blocked the allocation of funds for Ukraine's needs. Budapest has been opposing the allocation of the EU tranche of 500 million euros since May.
At the same time, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó stated that the country is ready to change its mind if Ukraine excludes the Hungarian OTP Bank from the list of international sponsors of the war.
The bank was included in this list because it continued its activities in Russia despite the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation, effectively recognizing the so-called DPR (Donetsk People's Republic) and LPR (Luhansk People's Republic).
Recently, NACP (National Agency on Corruption Prevention) suspended the status of an international sponsor of the war for OTP Bank, but Hungary claimed that this was supposedly an "insufficient step."
