Zelenskyy Asks Macron To Help Unblock Macro-Financial Aid, Which Stalled In Europe

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked French President Emmanuel Macron to help Ukraine unblock the provision of macro-financial aid, which has stalled in Europe. Zelenskyy said this in a traditional evening video address, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

He said that on Monday, August 1, he held one and a half hour meaningful negotiations with Macron, including on the restoration of agricultural exports of Ukraine by sea, cooperation in the defense sphere, a wide range of security issues.

"We also discussed macro-financial support for our country. I asked Mr. President to help us unblock macro-finance aid, which has stalled in Europe. I want to remind all leaders that it is EUR 9 billion. These are not small things for us, but important social things - these are our pensions, this our salaries, support for displaced persons, and therefore we expect appropriate decisions of specific government officials," Zelenskyy said.

Macron informed Zelenskyy about the results of his tour of African countries. Zelenskyy invited Macron to participate in the online summit of the Crimean Platform on August 23.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on August 1, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced that the European Union had sent EUR 1 billion of macro-financial assistance to Ukraine, the first part of which, in the amount of EUR 500 million, has already been credited to the account of the National Bank, and the arrival of the second tranche is expected on August 2.

The Prime Minister noted that these EUR 1 billion are part of a large package of support for Ukraine in overcoming the financial consequences of the war for a total of EUR 9 billion, these funds will help in financing priority budgetary needs.