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The United States is resisting a European Union-led plan to expand the use of frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the discussions. American officials have told their European counterparts that Washington will not join the initiative for now, pointing to potential market stability risks as the main concern.
The move represents a setback for the EU, which is trying to rally other G7 members behind a proposal to use frozen Russian central bank assets as collateral for up to €140 billion ($160 billion) in loans for Kyiv. The European Commission is preparing a detailed framework for the plan but will hold off on publication until EU leaders give their approval, possibly at a summit in Brussels later this week.
The U.S. hesitation coincides with a renewed White House effort to push for a ceasefire in Ukraine. President Donald Trump hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington last week and announced plans to meet with Vladimir Putin in Budapest soon, following a phone conversation with the Russian leader.
In September, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. remained open to using around $5 billion in frozen Russian assets held domestically. “We’ve passed a resolution that allows us to seize them,” he said, “but we haven’t said we will.”
Washington’s caution — and its concerns about financial stability — may embolden skeptics within the EU, particularly in Belgium, where most of the assets are held. Belgian officials have warned that expanding the use of frozen funds could trigger lawsuits, expose governments to major liabilities, undermine trust in Europe’s financial system, and even weaken the euro.
The European Central Bank has voiced similar concerns. ECB President Christine Lagarde recently backed the idea of using the assets as collateral but stressed the importance of coordinated action among all countries holding them.
Of the €280 billion in frozen Russian assets, the vast majority is located in Europe, mainly at Euroclear in Belgium. While interest income from the assets is already being directed to Ukraine, the EU is now exploring secured lending mechanisms based on the frozen funds — a legally and financially complex structure designed to avoid outright confiscation and potential legal challenges from Moscow.
European officials expressed frustration at the U.S. retreat just as they were moving ahead, noting that the Trump administration had previously urged the EU to make greater use of the Russian assets. Although the U.S. holds only a small portion of the frozen funds, its endorsement would have sent a strong signal to other G7 members. Within the group, the U.K. and Canada support the EU’s initiative, while Japan appears to share Washington’s more cautious approach.
Earlier, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said EU countries were close to reaching a final agreement on providing a reparations-backed loan to Ukraine using frozen Russian assets, describing the effort as “moving toward a happy resolution.”
