Zelenskiy discusses urgent aid, Russia sanctions with EU chief

(Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday he had called on the EU to urgently allocate its next round of aid to Ukraine and pressed for a new wave of sanctions on Russia in a phone call with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen.

“Discussed the allocation of the next tranche of #EU macro-(financial) aid ASAP. Emphasized the need to prepare the 8th package of (Western) sanctions (on Russia), including a ban on issuing visas to Russian citizens,” he said on Twitter.

Zelenskiy, who has warned Europeans to expect a difficult winter due to Russian oil and gas exports cuts, also said he and Von Der Leyen coordinated “steps to limit Russia’s excess profits from the sale of oil and gas”.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said earlier that Kyiv was expecting a tranche of 5 billion euros ($4.98 billion) in macro-financial aid from the EU this coming week.

(Reporting by Aleksandar Vasovic; Editing by Tom Balmforth and Philippa Fletcher)