President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine on Thursday expressed confidence about U.S. aid, largely brushing off rising concerns about possible waning support for his country as it faces another winter of Russian aggression.
The Ukrainian leader visiting the southern Spanish city of Granada for a European summit aimed at strengthening cooperation across Europe the day after President Biden expressed worries that the recent political turmoil in Congress could disrupt the flow of U.S. aid to Ukraine.
Asked if he was concerned about a possible scaling back of U.S. military aid, Mr. Zelensky it was “too late for us to worry.”
In his speech at the summit meeting, he said he believed the United States would continue to support Ukraine’s war efforts, noting that meetings with Mr. Biden and with Congress members last month were positive.
“I am confident in America,” he said in his speech at the conference. “Confident. They are strong people, strong society, with strong institutions, strong energy of democracy.”
“I was recently in Washington,” he added. “I talked to President Biden. I talked to congressmen from both parties, both chambers. They fully support the defense of freedom and understand that it is Russia and other enemies to our way of life who want to ride such political storms.”
The summit in Granada was the third meeting of the European Political Community, a gathering of leaders from nearly 50 countries that was created after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. Larger than the 27-nation European Union, it includes countries like Ukraine and Moldova. It is not a decision-making body, but rather a forum for leaders to exchange views.
E.U. leaders are expected to discuss long-term financial aid for Ukraine at a summit planned later this month in Brussels — but the topic was likely to come up at the meeting in Spain as well, diplomats said.
Thursday’s meeting in Granada comes amid concerns in Kyiv about potential cracks in Europe’s united front on Ukraine, as governments reckon with the economic and political costs of providing long-term support for Kyiv.
Mr. Zelensky said that the “joint goal” of those gathering in Granada was “to ensure the security and stability of our common European home.”
Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, told reporters in Granada on Thursday that what Ukraine needed was “predictability and reliability” on direct budget support.
“I’m very confident of support for Ukraine from the United States,” she said. “What the United States is working on is the timing.”
But Josep Borrell Fontelles, the top E.U. diplomat, told reporters before the summit that the events in the U.S. were “not expected” and “not good news.”
“Ukraine needs the support of the European Union,” he said. “But also the support of the U.S.”
In Ukraine, people are nervously watching Congress, said one lawmaker there Oleksii Goncharenko, a member of parliament from European Solidarity party.
“Definitely, we are very concerned,” Mr. Goncharenko said in an interview. “The United States is a key ally. Without the United States, we are done.”
With U.S. general election approaching next year, he said, Ukraine understands “the problem is just beginning” and that it should be “as bipartisan as possible” through the election to ensure support from whichever party ends up in power.
He added that it seems often lost in the current debate in Congress that Ukraine’s fight against Russia in the interest of the United States. “With just a few percentage points of the U.S. military budget we destroyed half of the Russian army,” he said.
Maria Varenikova contributed reporting,