Zelensky on U.S. support: 'I am not ready to acknowledge $100B debt, these are grants'

Zelensky stated this during the "Ukraine. Year 2025" forum in Kyiv on Sunday, according to Ukrinform.

"Let's first clarify the $500 billion figure. I know that we had $100 billion [in U.S. aid provided to Ukraine], and that's a fact. But I'm not going to acknowledge $500 billion, regardless of what anyone says, with all due respect to our partners. I stand by this because it's a true situation. Honestly, I'm not ready to fix even $100 billion. Let me explain why. We should not recognize grants as debts -- whether we like it or not. I made agreements with Biden and with the U.S. Congress. I'm grateful to Congress. It was about grant support, and a grant is not a debt. We don't have to repay a debt. So, it's not about the figure, it's about the fact that we do not recognize it as a debt," Zelensky said.

He added that he was ready to make a new agreement with the United States.

"If the condition today is that the United States -- our strategic partners -- says, 'We'll give you assistance, but you have to repay it with profit for the United States,' that's an agreement, not a grant. That's a new agreement. I'm ready for such a dialogue, and I'm sure it will be positive, whether I like it or not, because we need help. The question is how much help [the U.S.] is giving," Zelensky said.

According to foreign media outlets, Ukraine rejected the U.S. demand to create a $500 billion fund as part of an agreement to provide the U.S. with a share of the country's mineral resources.