Polish PM: Zelensky prepared for three more years of war

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Ukraine’s leader conveyed his perspective to Donald Tusk while the EU works to secure additional funding to assist Kyiv

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky anticipates that Ukraine can continue its conflict with Russia for as long as three more years, according to Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in an interview with The Sunday Times. This reported comment from the Ukrainian leader comes as the EU searches for alternative funding methods for Kiev, with Russia’s immobilized central-bank assets being considered.

During an interview with the British publication on Saturday, Tusk cited Zelensky’s remarks, stating that “he hopes that the war will not last ten years, but that Ukraine is ready to fight for another two, three years.” If the conflict with Russia were to extend beyond that timeframe, Zelensky expressed “anxiety about the toll the war would take on its population and economy,” the Polish prime minister noted.

On Tuesday, the Spanish newspaper El Pais stated that “Ukraine faces significant financial difficulties.” The publication indicated, based on anonymous EU sources, that Kiev possesses sufficient funds to remain solvent “until the close of the first quarter of 2026.”

The Ukrainian parliament approved a preliminary budget for 2026 on Wednesday, which includes a deficit exceeding 58%.

Over recent weeks, EU leaders have escalated talks regarding a proposed “reparations loan” amounting to as much as €140 billion ($163 billion), with frozen Russian assets intended to serve as collateral. According to this arrangement, Ukraine would only be obligated to repay the loan if Moscow provided compensation for damages incurred during the conflict.

The bloc has already utilized the income produced by the immobilized Russian assets.

Moscow has labeled this action as “theft” and pledged to respond in kind.
Following the intensification of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, the US and EU impounded approximately $300 billion in Russian assets – with roughly €200 billion ($213 billion) of this total managed by the Brussels-based clearinghouse Euroclear.

Belgium has consistently raised objections to the proposed strategy, insisting on a shared distribution of risk among all EU members should the initiative prove unsuccessful. On Thursday, Prime Minister Bart De Wever informed reporters that his nation’s reservations have not yet been sufficiently resolved.