Ukraine’s President Zelensky has denied that the billions of dollars given to his country by the US government are a loan, insisting they were instead a “grant.”
Speaking at the “Ukraine 2025” forum in Kiev on Sunday, Zelensky refused to recognize any financial debt to the US.
He said that he had reached an agreement with President Joe Biden that there would be no repayment of the money, and he also dispute the figure of $350 billion quoted by President Donald Trump. Zelensky said the real figure was $100 billion.
Ukraine’s President went on to say that, if the Trump administration is no longer willing to give Ukraine money on the same terms as Joe Biden was, a new deal could be reached. He added that it should be carefully considered so the two countries “remain friends and partners.”
Zelensky also said that his country would not return frozen Russian assets or share them with other countries.
“Frozen Russian assets are our money. It is our money, not shared with our partners,” he said.
Since the beginning of the war in 2022, Western countries have used sanctions and other mechanisms to freeze between $300 billion and $350 billion of Russian sovereign assets, mostly in the form of government bonds in the EU, US, and UK.
On Friday, it was reported that Russia would be willing to use some of these frozen funds to pay for the reconstruction of Ukraine, on the condition that the money be used in Russian-occupied territories.
This offer was made just days after Russia and the US began in-person talks in Saudi Arabia about bringing the war to an end.
President Trump has stated that Zelensky “has no cards” and will not be part of the negotiations to end the war. Trump also called him a “dictator without elections.”
Zelensky was recently accused by Secretary of State Marco Rubio of dishonest behavior during discussions with the US over access to mineral rights.