THE Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky he said on Friday that his country must achieve three key “victories” abroad: the approval of major aid packages from the US and the EU and the formal start of negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the European bloc.

Twenty months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, fatigue has set in with Western relations with Kiev, which relies heavily on military, economic and humanitarian aid from its Western allies.

“We need three wins. The first is winning the US Congress. It’s a challenge, it’s not easy, but Ukraine is doing everything,” Zelensky emphasized during a press conference.

THE US President Joe Biden asked Congress last month to approve multibillion-dollar aid for Kiev, but that aid was not included in the bill passed last week to continue funding the US federal government. This raises concerns that it may not be accepted.

A group of Republicans is opposed to sending new aid to Ukraine, as they believe this money should be spent on American taxpayers. However, the majority of Republicans and Democrats still support providing aid to Kiev.

“The second is that we need help from the EU for the 50 billion euro package,” Zelenskiy pointed out, referring to aid that the bloc has announced but has not been approved, as Hungary is currently opposing it.

“And the third is to start a dialogue about our future membership,” concluded the Ukrainian president.

Kiev hopes EU leaders will agree at their summit on December 14 and 15 to formally begin the long process of negotiations aimed at Ukraine joining the bloc, which Zelensky said would be good for revitalization the morale of Ukrainians.

Zelenskiy made the remarks during a joint press conference with Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics, who said he was confident the new EU aid package would be approved, although he added it may take longer than expected.