3 hours agoShareSavePaul KirbyEurope digital editorShareSaveUkrinform/NurPhotoVolodymyr Zelensky is urging European Union leaders gathered at a crunch summit in Brussels to loan billions of euros in frozen Russian money to fund Ukraine’s military and economic needs.Most of Russia’s €210bn (£185bn; $245bn) worth of assets in the EU are held by Belgium-based organisation Euroclear, and so far Belgium and some other members of the bloc have said they are opposed to using the cash as a “reparations loan”.Russia has warned the EU not to use its money, but without a boost in funding Ukraine’s finances are set to run dry in a matter of months.”I hope we will be able to get a positive decision,” Zelensky told reporters. “Without this there will be a big problem for Ukraine.” The Brussels summit comes at a pivotal moment in the war and Russia has filed a lawsuit against Euroclear in a Moscow court in a bid to get its money back.One European government official described being “cautiously optimistic, not overly optimistic” that a deal would be agreed. European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said “we will not leave the summit without a solution”.All eyes are on Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, who told the Belgian parliament on Thursday: “I haven’t yet seen any text that would persuade me to change Belgium’s position”.US President Donald Trump has said a deal is closer than ever to end the war – which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. US and Russian officials are due to meet in Miami this weekend for further talks on a peace plan, a White House official told the AFP news agency. It is thought Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev will talk to Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Ukrainian officials are also heading to the US, and President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is in Brussels, told reporters that Kyiv needed the money, either to support its army if the war continued, or to direct the funding entirely for recovery.Russia has not yet responded to the latest peace proposals, but the Kremlin has stressed that plans for a European-led multinational force for Ukraine supported by the US would not be acceptable.President Vladimir Putin made his feelings towards Europe clear on Wednesday, when he said the continent was in a state of “total degradation” and that “European piglets” – a derogatory description of Ukraine’s European allies – were hoping to profit from Russia’s collapse.Alexander KAZAKOV/POOL/AFPThe European Commission – the EU’s executive arm – has proposed loaning Kyiv about €90bn (£79bn) over the next two years – out of the €210bn of Russian assets sitting in Europe.That is about two-thirds of the €137bn that Kyiv is thought to need to get through 2026 and 2027.Until now the EU has handed Ukraine the interest generated by the cash but not the cash itself.”This is a crunch time for Ukraine to keep fighting for the next year,” a Finnish government official told the BBC. “There are of course peace negotiations but this gives Ukraine leverage to say ‘we’re not desperate and we have the funds to continue fighting’.”The head of the European Commission says it will also ramp up the cost of war for Russia.Russia’s frozen assets are not the only option on the table for EU leaders. Another idea, backed by Belgium, is based on the EU borrowing the money on the international markets, using the EU budget as a guarantee.However, that would require a unanimous vote and Hungary’s Viktor Orban has made it clear he will not allow any more EU money to help Ukraine.For Ukraine, the hours ahead are significant and EU leaders have been keen to stress the momentous nature of the loan decision.”We know the urgency. It is acute. We all feel it. We all see it,” Ursula von der Leyen told the European Parliament.EPAGerman Chancellor Friedrich Merz has played a leading role in pushing for the Russian assets to be used, telling the Bundestag on the eve of the summit it was about sending a “clear signal” to Moscow that continuing the war was pointless.EU officials are confident they have a sound legal …
