The European Union has not agreed on the use of Russian frozen assets. Ukraine will receive a €90 billion loan from the blocʼs budget.
This was reported by European Council President Antonio Costa after the EU leadersʼ summit in Brussels on December 18.
"We have an agreement. The decision to provide Ukraine with €90 billion in support for 2026-2027 has been approved. We made a commitment, we delivered," Costa noted.
This is an interest-free loan secured by the EU budget, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz clarified.
It is emphasized that three EU countries will not participate in the financing of the guarantees: the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia.
The EU will continue to keep Russian assets frozen until Russia pays reparations to Ukraine. If Russia does not do so, Ukraine will be able to use the money to repay the loan.
European Union leaders gathered for a two-day summit in the Belgian capital on December 18 to agree on financing for Ukraine for the next two years. Late in the evening, they began discussing a reparations loan.
Politico writes that the EU leadersʼ summit lasted 15 hours and ended around 03:00. The EU leaders were unable to agree on a decision on the use of frozen Russian assets.
President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked EU leaders for their decision to provide financial support to Ukraine. He said it was “significant support that truly strengthens our resilience”.
"It is important that Russian assets remain immobilized and that Ukraine has received a financial security guarantee for the coming years," Zelensky added.
What is known about the reparation loan?
The possibility of providing Ukraine with a €140 billion loan using frozen Russian assets has been discussed since early October. At that time, EU leaders were unable to agree on the loan — Belgium opposed it, and France and Luxembourg were concerned about the legal consequences.
The European Commission officially presented the idea of a reparations loan on December 6, and its details were revealed by Politico. This loan is to consist of €165 billion: €25 billion of frozen Russian state assets held in private bank accounts across the European Union, and €140 billion held in the Belgian financial institution Euroclear. The money is planned to be distributed as follows:
- €115 billion will be allocated to finance Ukraineʼs defense industry;
- €50 billion will cover Ukraineʼs budget needs;
- €45 billion will be used to repay the loan that the G7 provided to Ukraine in 2024.
Belgium is opposed to the loan, worried that Russia would sue it if the plan goes ahead, as the frozen assets are held in Belgiumʼs Euroclear. The Belgian prime minister has asked the other 26 EU countries to guarantee coverage of the legal and financial risks.
Meanwhile, according to Bloomberg, Russia has prepared a response to the Westʼs possible "reparations loan" to Ukraine — it will nationalize foreign assets.
And on December 5, Bloomberg, citing sources among European diplomats, wrote that the United States had lobbied several EU countries not to use Russian assets for reparations loans for Ukraine. American officials convinced EU states that these assets were needed to secure a peace agreement between Kyiv and Moscow, so they should not be used to continue the war.
On December 8, the G7 countries supported the use of frozen Russian assets for reparations to Ukraine and stated that they were ready to increase pressure on Russia if peace talks failed.
On December 11, the EU Council decided to freeze Russian assets indefinitely.
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