Ukraine-Russia war latest: EU agrees to loan Kyiv €90bn and reserves right to use frozen Russian assets – UK Times

Volodymyr Zelensky said he understand Belgium’s concerns on using frozen Russian assets after a conversation with the country’s prime minister Bart De Wever.

“Together with Prime Minister of Belgium @Bart_DeWever, we discussed mechanisms for using frozen Russian assets. I understand all of Belgium’s concerns; however, a decision on the reparations loan must be made. It is fair and will ensure long-term predictability for Ukraine,” he said on X.

“We also discussed coordination in diplomacy between Europe and the United States for the sake of peace, Ukraine’s future membership in the European Union, support for Ukraine’s energy system, and reconstruction,” Zelensky said.

EU leaders have avoided “chaos and division” with their decision to provide Ukraine with a loan through borrowing cash rather than use frozen Russian assets, Belgian prime minister Bart De Wever said in the early hours today.

“We remained united,” De Wever said after EU leaders had discussed for hours how to provide Ukraine with the money it needs to sustain its fight against Russia’s invasion.

Some €210bn (£183bn) worth of Russian assets are frozen in Europe, most of them in the Belgian financial clearing house Euroclear. Belgium had objected to the loan plan, calling it legally risky and warning that it could harm Euroclear’s business.

Belgium was rattled last week when Russia’s Central Bank launched a lawsuit against Euroclear to prevent any loan being provided to Ukraine with frozen Russian funds.

German chancellor Friedrich Merz has hailed the deal reached by European leaders working late into Thursday night in Brussels.

“The financial package for Ukraine has been finalised,” Merz said in a statement, noting that “Ukraine is granted a zero-interest loan”.

“These funds are sufficient to cover the military and budgetary needs of Ukraine for the two years to come,” Merz added.

He said the frozen assets will remain blocked until Russia has paid war reparations to Ukraine. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said that would cost over €600bn (£525bn).

“If Russia does not pay reparations we will — in full accordance with international law — make use of Russian immobilised assets for paying back the loan,” Merz said.

French president Emmanuel Macron described the deal agreed between the EU leaders as a major advance, saying this option “was the most realistic and practical way” to fund Ukraine and its war efforts.

Calling the gathering a “very good summit for Ukraine”, Macron said the European leaders delivered what they committed to do for Ukraine.

He added that the deal included a mechanism to protect three countries — Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic — from any financial fallout.

European Union leaders have agreed to provide a massive interest-free loan to Ukraine to meet its military and economic needs for the next two years, EU Council president Antonio Costa said.

“We have a deal. Decision to provide €90bn ($106bn) of support to Ukraine for 2026-27 approved. We committed, we delivered,” Costa said in a post on social media, without providing details about how the money would be raised.

The EU leaders worked deep into Thursday night to reassure Belgium that they would provide guarantees to protect it from Russian retaliation if it backed the loan for Ukraine.

The European Union imposed sanctions on 41 more ships in Russia’s shadow fleet, taking the total of designated vessels to almost 600.

The ships are now banned from entering EU ports and can no longer receive a broad range of services related to maritime transport, the EU Council said.

The EU has imposed 19 packages of sanctions against Russia so far, but Moscow has managed to adapt to most measures and is still selling millions of barrels of oil to India and China, albeit at discounts to global prices.

Much of this is shipped using a so-called shadow fleet of vessels operating outside of the Western maritime industry.

The EU on Monday already adopted sanctions targeting Russia oil traders Murtaza Lakhani and Etibar Eyyub for enabling Moscow to circumvent Western sanctions on crude exports that help to fund Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Ukrainian peace negotiators are en route to the United States and plan to meet the US negotiating team on Friday and Saturday, Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday.

The Ukrainian president told reporters in a WhatsApp media chat that there were no final aligned peace proposals for now, reiterating his plea to partners to strengthen Ukraine in case Russia refuses to stop its war.

Moscow also said on Thursday that Russia was preparing for contacts with the United States to get details about US talks with European powers and Ukraine on a possible peace settlement to end the Ukraine conflict.

Volodymyr Zelensky has now warned that frozen Russian assets must not be allowed to be used by Moscow to its political advantage.

“Money is needed so that Russia and anybody else doesn’t use these Russian assets as a leverage against us,” he said.

He adds that it is vital to stop these assets being used as a part of Russia’s negotiation tactics, such as by offering access to the US.

Zelensky also spoke on the importance of security guarantees.

“I believe that the end of the war in general is connected with security guarantees, because without security guarantees it doesn’t mean there will be an end.”

Russia “will come” again without guarantees that “speak to everybody”, including Ukrainian people who want to return, investors, tourists, and so on.