Zelensky is ‘ready’ for elections if allies guarantee security – DW – 12/10/2025

The EU is close to a solution on financing Ukraine’s defense against Russia in 2026 and 2027, European Council President Antonio Costa said.

The deal would have to be supported by a qualified majority of EU members, he said.

On October 23, EU leaders promised to bankroll Kiev for the next two years as US contributions were reduced.

Leaders are to decide at a summit in Brussels on December 18 how to fulfill their pledge.

“We are now working on improving the legal and technical solution to achieve at least the consent of a qualified majority of member states. I think we are very close to achieving a solution,” Costa said.

As European leaders struggle to offset the US contribution, they are looking to tap the €210 billion ($244 billion) of Russian sovereign assets frozen in Europe following Moscow’s aggression.

Regardless of political will, reaching an agreement on the use of Russian assets will be complex. Belgium, where the assets are held, wants guarantees from other EU members that they will share the financial fallout if Russia successfully sues Belgium over the scheme.

Ukraine faces a shortfall in military aid in the second half of 2025 as European contributions fail to make up for the suspension of US support, the latest data from the Kiel Institute showed on Wednesday.

Europe pledged a record contribution of nearly €20 billion ($23 billion) to Ukraine between March and June after US President Donald Trump slashed military aid at the start of the year.

But contributions fell to less than €8 billion ($9.3 billion) between July and October. This is the second lowest four-month figure since Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion.

“Based on the data available until October, Europe is not able to maintain the pace of the first half of 2025,” said Professor Christoph Trebesch, head of Kiel’s Ukraine Support Tracker.

“If this slow pace continues in the remaining months, 2025 will become the year with the lowest level of new aid allocations for Ukraine since the full-scale invasion began in 2022,” he said.

France, Germany and the UK have substantially increased their contributions this year. However, between 2022 and 2024 the US contributed an average of €21.4 billion ($24.9 billion) out of a total of €41.6 billion ($48.4 billion), leaving a significant gap for Europe to fill.

At least half a dozen executives from top Indian arms makers attended a rare meeting in Russia this year to discuss potential joint ventures, Reuters news agency reported, citing three unnamed sources.

These companies include India’s two largest arms manufacturing companies, Adani Defense and Bharat Forge.

The talks took place on October 29-30 on the sidelines of the visit of an Indian defence-industrial delegation.

It was the first such visit by Indian defense business leaders since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The visit also laid the groundwork for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India in early December.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Tuesday that the new US national security strategy includes parts that are “unacceptable for us from a European perspective.”

Merz said Europe needs to be less dependent on the US.

While Merz rejected components of the US strategy, he also described it as factually surprising, saying the document largely reflects what US Vice President J.D. Vance had already said at the Munich security conference in February.

Merz said of the American strategy, “Some of it is laudable, some of it is understandable, and some of it is unacceptable to us from a European perspective.”

He said, “I don’t think there is any need for Americans to try to save democracy in Europe anymore. If it needs saving, we will be able to handle it on our own.”

In a wide-ranging interview with US news site Politico, US President Donald Trump doubled down on his criticism of Europe, calling European allies “weak” because of its immigration policies.

“They’re weak. They want to be politically correct,” Trump said in the interview, deepening the rift between Washington and Europe.

Trump also hinted in the interview that the US might move away from supporting Ukraine, saying that Russia has the “upper hand” and that “at some point, size will win.”

In response, a European Commission spokesperson defended the bloc’s leader, saying the region remains committed to the union despite challenges such as the war in Ukraine or Trump’s trade tariffs.

Last week, the US released a national security document sharply criticizing Europe on economic and cultural grounds.

The document warned that Europe must change its course if it does not want to face “annihilation”.

Volodymyr Zelensky said he was ready to hold elections within 60 to 90 days if the US and European allies could guarantee security for the elections during the war.

These comments came after US President Donald Trump said politico He believed that now was the time to hold elections in Ukraine.

“I personally have the will and readiness for this,” Zelensky told reporters.

He said, “I am now demanding, I openly declare it, that the United States help me, possibly in conjunction with European allies, to ensure security for the conduct of the elections.”

He said holding the vote would mean changing Ukraine’s election law, which does not allow voting to be held under martial law.

Ukraine has not held any elections since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its smaller neighbor in February 2022.

Zelensky’s five-year term ends in May 2024.

There are also concerns that Moscow might try to undermine the elections and install a pro-Russian leader.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is facing pressure from the White House to quickly establish peace in Ukraine.

But Zelensky and European allies have pushed back against a US-backed plan widely seen as favorable to Moscow to end the war.

On Tuesday, Zelensky said Ukraine and its European partners would soon present the US with a “refined” document to end the war with Russia.

On the battlefield, Russia said it was making incursions into Ukraine, capturing 30% of the city of Myrnohrad, not far from the strategic city of Pokrovsk.

Follow for developments throughout the day.