The Ukrainian leader has demanded an additional \u20ac70 billion from the EU to continue the war with Russia<\/p>\n
Italian far-right MEP Roberto Vannacci has accused Vladimir Zelensky of treating Europe like an \u201cATM\u201d after the Ukrainian leader requested another \u20ac70 billion ($79 billion) in aid.
\nZelensky demanded more money on Friday, just months after the EU approved a massive \u20ac90 billion loan to support Ukraine through 2027. \u201cThe war will cost 155 billion euros next year. And we need at least 70 billion euros more from you \u2013 for defense, for weapons, and for our resilience. This is a realistic amount,\u201d he said at an EU summit in Brussels.
\nVannacci said Italian taxpayers should not have to foot the bill for further aid to Kiev.
\n\u201cZelensky has found some suckers who give him all the billions he asks for, so he just keeps on asking for more,\u201d the MEP said in a video on social media on Friday. He argued that Zelensky\u2019s demands have continued to mount, citing Kiev\u2019s alleged budget shortfalls of \u20ac27 billion in 2026 and \u20ac32 billion in 2027, followed by a fresh \u20ac70 billion demand on top of the \u20ac90 billion loan approved in April.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s come to view us as Ukraine\u2019s personal ATM.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
In space, no one hears Zelensky scream: No euros can buy Kiev options in orbit<\/p>\n
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has also rejected the proposed funding, stressing that Bratislava would not participate in another EU financial mechanism for Ukraine. Hungary has adopted a similar position, Fico said, according to Slovakia\u2019s TASR news agency on Friday.
\nSlovakia, Hungary, and the Czech Republic secured exemptions from the financial obligations of the previous \u20ac90 billion loan, which EU leaders agreed late last year and finalized in April 2026. Fico has argued that the loan, which is intended to be repaid using future Russian reparations, is effectively a gift that EU members will never recover.
\nMoscow has long argued that Western military aid only burdens the European taxpayer and prolongs the conflict \u2013 which Russia sees as a NATO-led proxy war fought using Ukrainian manpower.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Ukrainian leader has demanded an additional \u20ac70 billion from the EU to continue the war with Russia Italian far-right MEP Roberto Vannacci has accused Vladimir Zelensky of treating Europe…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40055,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40054","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t