Zelenskyy says Ukraine needs frozen Russian assets for ‘real defense assistance’

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country needs the Russian assets confiscated in the West for "real defense assistance."

In June, leaders of the Group of Seven agreed on a plan to loan approximately $50 billion to Ukraine by the end of the year using interest earned on profits from the around $300 billion frozen sovereign Russian assets.

Russian President Vladimir Putin denounced the decision as "theft," and that it will "not go unpunished." He said "anyone could be the next in line for expropriation by the United States and the West."

“There have already been many political statements from our partners. There is still a lot being said about this. But we need a real mechanism. We need the proceeds of the aggressor's assets to work for real defense assistance against the aggressor,” Zelenskyy said in an evening video address late Wednesday. Russia started its "special military operation" in Ukraine in February 2022.

Expressing that discussions on this matter have been ongoing for “too long,” he said they need decisions to be made in this regard.

Zelenskyy argued it is important that partners fulfill their obligations with regards to defense support, describing this as “fundamental” for Ukraine’s defense.

He said he thanked Bartholomew I of Istanbul's Fener Greek Orthodox Patriarchate for his support for Ukraine, and informed him about the recently-adopted law on banning religious organizations tied to Russia.

“It is very important that we share a common understanding of the unifying potential for Ukrainian Orthodoxy that this passed law provides, and everything is provided for it, in sufficient measure, to really eliminate dependence on Moscow and to add unity to Ukraine,” he added.

Ukraine’s parliament on Tuesday voted for approving the second reading of a draft bill that introduced restrictions to religious organizations on relations with the Russian Orthodox Church.

The first reading of the bill, On the Protection of the Constitutional Order in the Field of Activities of Religious Organizations, was adopted by the Verkhovna Rada last October.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the bill's adoption signaled the "destruction of true Orthodoxy at the root," accusing Ukraine of trying to create a "false church" to replace the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.