Zelensky and von der Leyen hold tense meeting on EU financial support at UN General Assembly
On the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pressed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to accelerate EU financial support, while the Commission tied additional aid to Ukrainian reforms. Kyiv raised concerns about a possible Russian escalation in winter and limited air defense, and expressed displeasure at the EU's decision to lift sanctions on two Russian oligarchs.
Key points
- Meeting took place on 22 September 2026 in New York on the margins of the UN General Assembly; Bloomberg described the atmosphere as tense.
- Von der Leyen wrote on X that additional defense support is approaching and additional budget support will follow as reforms advance in the Verkhovna Rada, with 37 billion euros still available for 2026.
- European Commission spokesperson Guillaume Mercier said reforms agreed between the EU and Ukraine could unlock 20 billion euros in EU budget support for Kyiv.
- Spokesperson Arianna Podesta said the Commission is calling on partners to increase defense support for Ukraine and on Ukraine to adopt reforms to allow disbursement of 37 billion euros.
- EU Commissioners Valdis Dombrovskis and Marta Kos sent letters the previous week to the chairman of the Verkhovna Rada and the Prime Minister of Ukraine underscoring the importance of reforms.
- Kyiv asked the EU to accelerate disbursement of a 90 billion euro loan adopted in February 2026 to fund Ukraine through the end of next year, and named an advance from that loan as one possible way to cover the budget deficit.
- The EU raised objections to some of Ukraine's deficit calculations and proposed involving Canada, Norway and Japan in additional financing; Zelensky said teams would meet again in 7–10 days.
Why it matters
The EU has made 2026 disbursements conditional on Ukrainian reforms, directly linking financial aid to domestic policy progress on rule of law and anti-corruption. Ukraine is pressing for accelerated access to a 90 billion euro loan adopted in February 2026 to cover an unplanned budget deficit, with further talks set for 7–10 days. The meeting also exposed strain in EU–Ukraine relations over both the deficit figures and the EU's decision to lift sanctions on Russian oligarchs Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman. In parallel, Zelensky used his US meetings to propose an energy ceasefire with Russia, asking Donald Trump to involve Xi Jinping.
What happened
On 22 September 2026, on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Bloomberg, citing a source familiar with the talks, said the meeting took place in a tense atmosphere. Zelensky pressed the EU to accelerate disbursement of a 90 billion euro loan, adopted by the European Parliament and EU Council in February 2026, that is intended to finance Ukraine through the end of next year and consists of two components: defense/defense-industrial support and support for state institutions, public services and economic resilience. He named an advance from that loan as one possible way to cover Ukraine's budget deficit. After the meeting, von der Leyen wrote on X that additional defense support is approaching and that, as reforms advance in the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine's parliament), additional budget support will follow, with 37 billion euros still available in the current calendar year. The Ukrainian side raised concerns about a possible Russian escalation in winter and limited air defense capabilities to protect cities, and expressed displeasure at the EU's lifting of sanctions on Usmanov and Fridman. Zelensky told journalists the teams would meet again in 7–10 days for further negotiations and expressed hope of reaching an agreement.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian sources frame the meeting as a tense but productive exchange in which Kyiv pressed the EU to accelerate disbursements and flagged Russian escalation risks in winter. They highlight Kyiv's displeasure at the EU's lifting of sanctions on Usmanov and Fridman as an irritant in the broader financial talks, and emphasize Zelensky's hope that further negotiations in 7–10 days will produce an agreement, including a possible advance from the 90 billion euro loan.
How international sources describe it
Both supplied sources are Ukrainian, but they report the EU's framing as one linking any additional budget support to reform progress in the Verkhovna Rada. They relay European Commission spokespersons as stressing that reform-linked support (cited as up to 20 billion euros) and the 37 billion euros available in the current calendar year are tied to Ukrainian action on rule-of-law and anti-corruption reforms. They also report the EU pushing back on Ukraine's deficit calculations and proposing to bring in Canada, Norway and Japan for additional financing.
Where reporting differs
Sources give different figures for Ukraine's budget deficit: one reports approximately 26 billion euros (30 billion dollars), while Zelensky is cited as stating 23 billion dollars.
Background
In February 2026, the European Parliament and EU Council adopted a regulation establishing a loan of up to 90 billion euros for Ukraine, split between defense/defense-industrial support and state/economic resilience support. The reform agenda the EU is conditioning aid on includes rule-of-law and anti-corruption measures that the Ukrainian authorities themselves agreed to and that were ratified by the Verkhovna Rada. EU Commissioners Valdis Dombrovskis and Marta Kos recently wrote to the chairman of the Verkhovna Rada and the Prime Minister of Ukraine underscoring the importance of reforms, and IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva similarly stressed the importance of reforms in talks with Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko. Donald Trump is hosting Xi Jinping in Washington this week, the context in which Zelensky asked Trump to convey the energy-ceasefire proposal.