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European leaders at a summit in Brussels agreed to work on a plan to finance Ukraine in 2026–2027 by using frozen Russian assets, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said, according to Reuters. He stressed that joint EU borrowing will not be used.
“We have definitely reached a breakthrough,” Tusk said. “The breakthrough means that everyone agrees it is worth trying, and that using Russian assets for Ukraine would be justified and beneficial for Europe. However, some countries will push to the end to maximize safeguards for themselves.”
As Sky News notes, Tusk’s remarks do not amount to final approval of a specific mechanism. Rather, the EU has agreed in principle on the need to finance Ukraine using Russian assets, with technical details still to be negotiated.
Tusk added that further, increasingly technical discussions lie ahead, as countries most exposed to potential Russian financial retaliation—primarily Belgium, though not only Belgium—are seeking additional protections.
Of the €210 billion in frozen Russian assets held in the EU, €185 billion is kept at Belgium-based Euroclear. Brussels has expressed concerns about possible Russian retaliation if the funds are released. Tusk said the EU would seek to provide Belgium with strong guarantees to ensure confidence.
European leaders met in Brussels on Thursday to decide on Ukraine’s financing, with the key agenda item being a proposed “reparations loan”, an issue on which EU member states remain divided. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has assessed the chances of reaching an agreement as “50–50.”
