Zelenskyy and von der Leyen meet at UNGA as Ukraine presses for budget support, new anti-ballistic programme announced

Why it matters

The meeting comes against the backdrop of Ukraine's largest wartime budget crisis and a reported $30 billion funding gap. Von der Leyen's confirmation that €37 billion in EU support is still available this year, alongside a new anti-ballistic programme, signals continued European backing, but EU representatives tied further assistance to Verkhovna Rada reforms on the shadow economy, tax revenues and alignment with EU law. Ukraine's anger over the EU lifting sanctions on Usmanov and Fridman, and the public dispute over whether the talks were "tense" or "absolutely positive," underline the political friction around scaling that support.

What happened

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met at UN headquarters in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session. According to Bloomberg, which cited a source familiar with the conversation, the meeting was tense; Zelenskyy rejected that characterisation, calling the talks "absolutely positive" and "very positive" and saying the negotiations had been prepared in advance by a phone call between the two leaders.

Von der Leyen wrote on X that Europe is working harder than ever to strengthen Ukraine's defence and announced a new EU–Ukraine anti-ballistic programme intended to help rapidly scale up production. She said €37 billion in EU budget support remains available for Ukraine in the current calendar year, and that additional budget support would follow as reforms in the Verkhovna Rada progress.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine is facing a budget financing deficit driven by the rising cost of the war. Bloomberg sources put the figure at around $30 billion. Zelenskyy noted that part of European financing is tied to the Verkhovna Rada's adoption of relevant draft laws but said the parliament cannot operate in peacetime mode during the war, and asked the EU side to be "more flexible" on deadlines. He said Ukraine would send a financial team to negotiate with the European side on how to bring forward part of a second tranche, including funds for drones.

EU representatives told the Ukrainian side they want to see progress on legislation combating the shadow economy, raising tax revenues and aligning Ukrainian law with EU norms before providing additional funding. The EU disagreed with some Ukrainian figures and proposed that additional funding come from other partners such as Canada, Norway and Japan. Ukraine was "outraged" that the EU agreed to lift sanctions on Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman as part of an extension of personal sanctions against Russia; Zelenskyy called that move self-defeating and counterproductive but thanked von der Leyen for her readiness to work on adding further Russian names to the sanctions list. Ukraine also raised concern about a possible intensification of Russian attacks in winter given limited air-defence missile stocks, and Zelenskyy said Ukraine needs to scale up the number of interceptors and obtain additional ammunition for F-16 fighters.

How Ukrainian sources describe it

Most supplied sources are Ukrainian. They foreground Zelenskyy's denial of the "tense" characterisation and emphasise his description of the meeting as "absolutely positive," alongside concrete announcements such as the €37 billion still available and the new EU–Ukraine anti-ballistic programme. Several outlets also stress Ukraine's grievances: the reported $30 billion budget gap, the call for more flexibility on legislative deadlines, and outrage at the EU lifting sanctions on Usmanov and Fridman as part of the sanctions renewal deal.

Where reporting differs

Bloomberg, citing a source familiar with the conversation, described the Zelenskyy–von der Leyen meeting in New York as "tense." Zelenskyy publicly rejected that account, calling the meeting "absolutely positive" and "very positive" and saying, "I don't know where such a message came from." The Ukrainian outlets reporting the exchange carried both characterisations; sources on both sides are Ukrainian.

Background

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York. On 18 September Zelenskyy said he would seek ways to overcome what he called a "cosmic" budget deficit. On 22 September, Vice Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Vsevolod Chentsov presented to the EU Council Working Party on Enlargement the state of Ukraine's fulfilment of obligations in the EU accession negotiation process, and IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva met Zelenskyy and urged him to continue reforms in order to unlock financial assistance. Von der Leyen had previously said unspent funds from the EU's SAFE (Security Action for Europe) defence programme would be directed to support Ukraine.