NEW YORK, September 10. /TASS/. Europe is unable to provide additional multibillion financing to Ukraine as the Kiev government wants, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) wrote.

Vladimir Zelensky’s multibillion-dollar requests "couldn’t come at a worse time for European governments," the newspaper wrote. European officials warn in private conversations "they might not be able to foot the bill for everything Ukraine wants."

The growing popularity of the Alternative for Germany party (AfD) in Germany and Marine Le Pen’s National Rally in France, who oppose financial support to Ukraine, prompts European leaders to decline new financial commitments to Kiev.

At this point, the EU "is trying to avoid reopening discussions over new money, knowing the political blowback that could generate."

Earlier this week, The New York Times (NYT) reported that Zelensky’s announcement about an unexpectedly large defense budget shortfall surprised and unsettled many European officials and raised questions about how efficiently these funds were used.

Late last month, Zelensky complained that the defense ministry’s budget shortfall stands at $27 billion, including $8-10 billion needed for arms procurements and almost $20 billion - for salaries.

Ukraine has drawn up budgets with record deficits for several years. Kiev acknowledges that the country has completely exhausted its own resources and that finding funds is becoming increasingly difficult. On August 20, Zelensky admitted that the shortage of funds had become a major challenge, with the defense budget alone facing a $27-billion shortfall. Former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said that no one in Kiev understands how to fill the budget gap.

On August 18, Kuleba stated that Kiev had "reached the ceiling" of international support and would not receive more from the West than what is currently provided. He warned that Kiev must be extremely cautious when calculating what it can rely on from external sources. Nevertheless, the government aims to secure an even larger sum of $52 billion from its partners in 2027.