ATHENS, August 25. /TASS/. Vladimir Zelensky sees Europe as an ATM ready to dole out endless money to fund its war with Russia, Greece’s pentapostagma.gr news portal said, commenting on his statement that Ukraine needs at least $1 billion a month to buy weapons.
"Vladimir Zelensky is going to the European money well once again to wage the war in Ukraine, this time asking European allies for an astronomical sum of one billion dollars a month, naturally, to buy American weapons," it said.
Europe, it noted, has already donated billions to Zelensky, has exhausted its weapons arsenals and "again, this tireless beggar is back asking for more." If European politicians give in to his demand for $1 billion a month, the burden will rest on rank and file Europeans, even as taxes and skyrocketing prices burn a hole in their pockets, it emphasized.
Earlier, Zelensky said during a joint news conference with visiting Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store that his country needs at least $1 billion a month to buy American weapons under the PURL (Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List) program that was launched by US President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on July 14. The initiative envisages that NATO allies purchase weapons for Ukraine from US reserves.
After the beginning of Russia’s special military operation, Kiev’s Western allies have dramatically increased weapons supplies to Ukraine and keep on allocating new aid packages. Meanwhile, Kiev asks for more aid. Moscow has repeatedly underscored that weapons supplies to Kiev will not change the situation on the battlefield but will only protract the conflict.