Zelenskyy warns Europe’s future depends on outcome of Ukraine war

Ukrainian president urges EU unity, warning war’s outcome will shape Europe’s security and criticising Hungary’s veto stance

The future of Europe "directly depends" on how the Ukrainian war with Russia ends, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned EU foreign ministers.

Speaking at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Kyiv on Tuesday, Mr Zelenskyy said that his country's accession to the EU was "a security guarantee" for the wider bloc.

Mr Zelenskyy said that Russia "cannot benefit" from the war and must not be rewarded with land, funding, or technological advances from its now four-year-old war on its neighbour.

"The future of Europe directly depends on how this war ends," Mr Zelenskyy said.

"This is essential for peace and Europe. That is why, when talks to end this war are ongoing, we always do everything to ensure Europe is present and that Europe's interests are taken into account.

"You can see how closely the Russian war against Ukraine is linked to what is happening in the Middle East and the Gulf. The Strait of Hormuz situation is much like the Black Sea when Russia blocked our shipping in 2022. Iranian drones and missiles hit every country, just as Russian drones and balistic missiles hit Ukraine".

Ukraine has proposed a ceasefire for the Easter holidays, Mr Zelenskyy said, but has not received a response from Russia.

In a scathing rebuke of Hungary, the Ukrainian president told ministers that Ukraine was grateful for European support, but that a €90bn loan package could not be held up "by one person in a deal with Moscow".

EU foreign ministers in February failed to break the deadlock over the Hungarian government’s veto on crucial European policies relating to €90bn in funding for Ukraine over the next two years. 

Budapest is also vetoing the EU’s twentieth sanctions package against Russia for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Mr Zelenskyy said that the deadlock had forced his country to delay a €5 billion plan to rebuild and prepare for next winter. The harsh winter season in Ukraine saw temperatures in Kyiv drop sharply, causing heating and power outages.

Mr Zelenskyy was deeply critical of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, saying he was "standing against all of Europe".

"If common decisions can be blocked so easily in such critical, critical times, what does that say about the rest?

"We must already prepare for the next winter. We have a plan, but because the 90 billion loan package is still blocked, we cannot use the €5 billion plan for protection and recovery, to get ready. We had planned to begin to do it in March. But somebody lost this month. As long as the blockage remains, the threat remains, and this is happening because one person in Europe standing against all of Europe simply to please Moscow, and everyone can already see the evidence that this is nothing more than a deal with Moscow."

Mr Zelenskyy said that the meeting marked four years since the Russian army was "pushed back" from the Ukrainian capital, which he said was important for the entire world.

"We remember four years ago, the Russian army was pushed back from Kyiv, and we freed the Kyiv region and the whole world. What the Russian army brought to us Ukraine was what it could bring to other countries," he warned.

Mr Zelenskyy also rejected the idea that American hearts had "gone cool" on support for his country, "despite much misinformation".

• Paul Hosford is acting political editor