EU agrees US$106 billion loan for Ukraine, but without Russian assets
EU leaders reach a compromise after plans to use frozen Russian assets failed to gain backing
EU leaders struck a deal Friday to provide Ukraine a loan of €90 billion (US$106 billion) to plug its looming budget shortfalls - but failed to agree on using frozen Russian assets to come up with the funds.
The middle-of-the-night agreement reached at summit talks in Brussels offers Kyiv a desperately needed lifeline as US President Donald Trump pushes for a quick deal to end Russia’s nearly four-year war.
“Today’s decision will provide Ukraine with the necessary means to defend itself and to support the Ukrainian people,” European Council head Antonio Costa, who chaired the summit, said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X that the deal “is significant support that truly strengthens our resilience”, adding: “It is important that Russian assets remain immobilised and that Ukraine has received a financial security guarantee for the coming years”.
In a post on Telegram, the Kremlin’s top economic negotiator Kirill Dmitriev welcomed the failure to “illegitimately use Russian assets to finance Ukraine”, adding that “for the time being, the law and common sense have won a victory”.