Fri, Feb 02, 2024 page1

• EU agrees on a 50 billion euro package to assist Ukraine

  • AP and Bloomberg, BRUSSELS
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  The leaders of the 27 EU countries yesterday sealed a deal to provide Ukraine with a new 50 billion euro (US$54 billion) support package, despite Hungary’s weeks of threats to veto the move, while separately Ukrainian commander-in-chief Valery Zaluzhny refused to step down from his post at a meeting with Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Monday, people familiar with the discussions said.

  European Council President Charles Michel announced the agreement about an hour into the leaders’ summit in Brussels.

  “We have a deal,” Michel wrote on X.

  

  Ukrainian General Valery Zaluzhny, front, attends an event for marking Ukraine’s Statehood Day in Mykhailivska Square in Kyiv on July 28 last year.

  Photo: Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP

  He said the agreement “locks in steadfast, long-term, predictable funding for Ukraine,” and demonstrated that the “EU is taking leadership and responsibility in support for Ukraine; we know what is at stake.”

  It was not immediately clear if any concessions were made to secure Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s approval. He raised objections to the financial aid package in December last year and in the days leading up to yesterday’s summit in Brussels.

  On their way into their meeting, several leaders had lashed out at Orban, accusing him of blackmail and playing political games that undermined support for Ukraine.

  “There is no problem with the so-called Ukraine fatigue issue. We have Orban fatigue now in Brussels,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told reporters. “I can’t understand. I can’t accept this very strange and very egoistic game of Viktor Orban.”

  In December, the 26 other leaders agreed on an aid package worth 50 billion euros for this year through 2027. They also agreed to make Ukraine a candidate for EU membership.

  However, the financial package was part of a review of the EU’s continuing seven-year budget, which requires unanimous approval.

  In other news, Zelenskiy asked Zaluzhnyi to take on a new role as he seeks to reinvigorate his military leadership following the failure of the Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russia’s occupying forces since the fall, which Zaluzhnyi refused. The move also reflects a deepening power struggle at the heart of the country’s war effort.

  Zelenskiy’s spokesman said that Zaluzhnyi has not been pushed out.

  Rumors of tensions between Zelenskiy and his top commander have been swirling around Kyiv for months, fueled by an outspoken interview that Zaluzhnyi published in The Economist in November last year.

  Zaluzhnyi said the war had reached a stalemate, a view that was publicly contradicted by his boss.

  Disagreements between Zelenskiy and Zaluzhnyi actually date back to the first months of the war, people familiar with the military leadership said.

  Zelenskiy is pushing for a bolder approach to the conflict this year and has appeared at odds with his general’s more conservative approach.

  The two men have also sparred over a new law on conscription that aims to replenish the depleted ranks of the army, but is unpopular with the Ukrainian people.

  The tensions have been exacerbated by that Zaluzhnyi is wildly popular with both the Ukrainian people and his troops. The general, who has the backing of 88 percent of Ukrainians in polls, has said he is not interested in becoming a politician, while Zelenskiy has also warned top military officials against entering politics.
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