Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky pressed European Union leaders on Thursday to approve a multi billion euro loan backed by frozen Russian assets, warning that delays could leave Kyiv unable to sustain key military production by spring.
Speaking as EU leaders gathered in Brussels for a closely watched summit, Zelensky said Ukraine was only months away from a severe cash shortfall. Without fresh funding, he warned, the country would be forced to scale back drone manufacturing, a core part of its defense effort.
The appeal underlines the growing urgency facing Ukraine as the war with Russia stretches into another year and Western support comes under strain.
Roughly 210 billion euros worth of Russian state assets are currently immobilised within the EU, most of them held by Belgium based financial services firm Euroclear. While European leaders have already used profits generated by those assets to support Ukraine, several governments have resisted tapping the principal itself.
Belgium and other member states have argued that using the funds as what has been described as a reparations style loan could expose the bloc to legal and financial risks. Russia has repeatedly warned against any move to use its money and has now filed a lawsuit against Euroclear in a Moscow court seeking to reclaim the assets.
Despite those concerns, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Europe had to “rise to this occasion,” urging leaders to match words of solidarity with decisive action.
Zelensky told fellow leaders that Ukraine faced a funding gap of between 45 and 50 billion euros next year. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen echoed the urgency, saying the bloc would not leave the summit without finding a solution.
A senior European government official described the mood in Brussels as “cautiously optimistic,” suggesting that compromise talks were moving, though no agreement had yet been sealed.
Attention has focused on Belgium, given its central role. Prime Minister Bart De Wever told lawmakers in Brussels that if a shared European approach was agreed, Belgium would not stand aside. If all conditions were met and backed by the EU, he said, “then we’ll jump into the abyss together with the rest of the Europeans and hope the parachute holds us.”
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The summit comes at a sensitive moment in the conflict. Zelensky said the funding would be vital whether the war continues or shifts toward recovery, calling the use of frozen Russian assets “moral, fair, and legal,” a view he said was backed by expert analysis.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said this week that efforts to end the war were closer than ever. According to AFP, US and Russian officials are expected to meet in Miami this weekend to discuss a possible peace framework, with Ukrainian officials also traveling to the United States.
Russia has not formally responded to the latest proposals, but the Kremlin has rejected the idea of a European led multinational force in Ukraine backed by Washington. President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday lashed out at Europe, accusing it of decline and using harsh language to criticise Ukraine’s allies.
The European Commission has proposed lending Ukraine about 90 billion euros over the next two years from the frozen assets, a sum that would cover a large share of Kyiv’s projected needs through 2027.