Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned the European Union against easing pressure on Russian oligarchs, hours after member states agreed to remove two of them from its sanctions list.
He spoke after meeting European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in New York on September 22, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. The pair discussed how to keep Ukraine’s finances afloat this year and next as the Ukraine War approaches its fifth winter.
In a post on social media, Zelensky thanked the EU for its €90 billion loan to Kyiv. He said Ukraine was meeting the obligations attached to it and working to close its budget deficit as far as possible.
Both sides agreed their teams would explore other avenues of financial support, according to the Ukrainian President.
Von der Leyen said Brussels was working harder than ever to strengthen Ukraine’s defence. She said a new EU-Ukraine anti-ballistic programme could help rapidly scale up production.
“We have €37 billion still available in this calendar year,” she wrote on X, urging all leaders to step up their support. She added that more budget support would follow as reforms advanced in the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament.
Zelensky said signals about lifting restrictions on certain Russian oligarchs appeared “suicidal and counterproductive” while Russia continued its missile and drone attacks on Ukraine.
He argued that wars were ended through resolve and strength rather than concessions to the aggressor’s allies. He also thanked von der Leyen for her readiness to add more Russian names to the EU sanctions lists.
The meeting came on the day EU ambassadors agreed to renew sanctions on nearly 3,000 people and entities for three years, rather than the usual six months. The compromise removes Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman from the list, lifting their asset freezes and travel bans.
France pushed for Usmanov’s removal, reportedly linking it to efforts to free French nationals held in Azerbaijan, diplomats told Reuters. Luxembourg, which Fridman is suing for €15 billion over his frozen assets, sought the same treatment for him, according to France 24.
The EU’s General Court had already ruled in 2024 that Fridman’s original listing was insufficiently justified, though later decisions kept him on the list.
Latvia blocked the deal on the evening of September 21 before relenting the following day and opting for a constructive abstention, according to Euronews. Riga would pursue national sanctions against both men, the Kyiv Independent reported.
The stand-off has revived debate over the unanimity rule that hands any single capital leverage over the entire regime. The renewal still has to be formally adopted through the Council of the European Union’s written procedure.
