Zelenskyy confident US 'will not betray us' as aid stalls in Congress

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he is certain that the US will not betray Kiev and implement the agreements reached between the two countries on financial aid.

"As for financial assistance, we are working very hard on this. I am sure that the US will not betray us and that what we agreed on in the US will be fully implemented," Zelenskyy said during an end-of-year news conference in the capital Kiev on Tuesday.

Commenting on the $54.8 billion aid package for Ukraine by the EU, Zelenskyy said it is "just a matter of time" before a decision is made on it, adding that he is sure this will be made "in the near future."

On Friday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced that his country vetoed EU funding of $54.8 billion for Ukraine, a day after the European Council decided to open accession talks with Kiev.

Zelenskyy said developments regarding the strengthening of Ukraine's air defence capabilities are important, and this winter will be different due to its various challenges.

"But we are becoming stronger and more powerful. I had a serious business trip. Several new Patriot systems will be in Ukraine to protect our country in winter. This is a very important result," he further said.

Russia "failed" to achieve any results on the front line during this year, the Ukrainian leader said, as he asserted that it is proven through the Kremlin's unchanged rhetoric regarding the goals of its "special military operation."

"There is nothing to talk about defeats. Russia did not achieve any victory. What three days ... Two years. Our fighters are great, our people are great. I am once again grateful to them for this," he added.

Economic toll

Zelenskyy denied that Ukraine would lose the war, even in the case where support from its international partners decreases.

He further said that he thinks no one knows the answer to whether the Russia-Ukraine war will end next year, and that their strategy of returning to the borders of 1991 has not changed.

Zelenskyy also said that the Ukrainian military proposed to mobilise an additional 450,000 to 500,000 people for the army.

"This is a very serious figure. I said that I need more arguments to support this direction, because it is a matter of people first and foremost," he said, adding that he will not agree on the mobilisation of women.

The toll the war is taking on Ukraine's economy was clear in figures published on Tuesday that showed the volume of goods exports through November was 19.3 percent lower than in the same period last year.

The drop was due largely to Russia’s "blockade of seaports and Russian attacks on our export transport logistics," Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko tweeted.

However, a recent uptick in sea exports came after Ukraine created a temporary grain corridor in the Black Sea and introduced a ship insurance mechanism, she said, adding that the growth bodes well for next year.