UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR Zelenskyy has asked European Union leaders to provide Kyiv with an extra €70 billion in funding next year to help it keep fighting Russia.

“The war will cost €155 billion next year. And we need at least €70 billion more from you – for defence, for weapons, and for our resilience,” Zelenskyy said in a speech at an EU summit in Brussels.

“This is a realistic amount. And I ask you to find this support. It will help us hold Russia back.”

The EU – Ukraine’s biggest international backer - is currently paying out instalments of a €90 billion loan for Kyiv that was set to help cover funding to the end of 2027.

But the Ukrainian authorities have warned they will still face a major budget black hole as Russian strikes have battered the country’s economy.

The war will cost 155 billion euros next year. And we need at least 70 billion euros more from you – for defense, for weapons, and for our resilience. This is a realistic amount. And I ask you to find this support. It will help us hold Russia back. There are some very simple facts. We stop most Russian assaults on the front line thanks to drones. We cut Russian supply lines with these technologies. And our drones are helping to weaken Russia’s economy. Right now, we could produce two or three times more drones – depending on the type. But we simply don’t have enough money for that. It’s true. Just imagine if we could put two or three times more pressure on Russia than we do today. From an address to the participants of the European Council meeting. (4/5)

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 16, 2026

Germany’s chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Thursday the European Union will have to find more money to finance Ukraine.

“We must do everything we can to help Ukraine through the winter and also to help next year,” Merz said at the start of a two-day summit of EU leaders in Brussels for crunch budget talks.

“We will have to increase the funds again here in order to really assist Ukraine on a lasting basis.”

The European Commission has said it is working with Kyiv to get a definitive figure for what is needed next year.

Diplomats said EU foreign ministers could hold discussions on the issue in December.

The talks around the new funding have reignited calls for the European Union to tap around €200 billion in frozen Russian central bank assets to fund Ukraine.

But there seems little momentum on that front as Belgium, where most of the funds are held, remains opposed.

The EU is meanwhile pushing other international backers of Ukraine – such as Britain, Canada and Japan – to come up with more money to help plug the gap.