🔗 Share this article Russia Hits Back at Europe's Scheme to Loan Immobilized Moscow's Cash to Kyiv Kyiv remains running out of funding to keep going its armed forces and economy afloat, after nearly four years of Russia's full-scale war. From the EU's perspective, the remedy to filling Ukraine's funding gap of €135.7bn for the coming 24 months is found in assets belonging to Russia that are frozen located within Belgian bank Euroclear, and Brussels seek to give it the green light at their EU leaders' conference next week. Moscow's representatives warn the EU plan would be an act of theft, and Moscow's monetary authority declared on Friday it was suing Euroclear in a Moscow court ahead of a final decision is made. 'Appropriate' to Employ Moscow's Funds, Say Kyiv and Brussels Overall, Russia has approximately €210bn of its funds immobilized in the EU, and €185bn of that is managed by Euroclear. European and Ukrainian authorities argue that that capital should be used to reconstruct what Russia has laid waste to: EU officials calls it a "reparations loan" and has proposed a plan to support Ukraine's economy amounting to €90bn. "It's only fair that Russia's frozen assets should be used to reconstruct what Russia has devastated – and that money then becomes Ukraine's," states Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Germany's leader Friedrich Merz says the assets will "allow Ukraine to shield itself effectively against subsequent Russian attacks". The legal move by Moscow was foreseen in Brussels. But it is not just Moscow that is dissatisfied. Belgium is concerned it will be left with an enormous bill if it all goes wrong, and Euroclear head Valérie Urbain says using the assets could "disrupt the global financial architecture". Euroclear also has an estimated €16-17bn frozen in Russia. The leader of Belgium Bart de Wever has set the EU a series of "rational, reasonable, and justified conditions" before he will endorse the reparations plan, and he has not excluded legal action if it "poses significant risks" for his country. What is the EU's Proposal? Brussels is racing against time prior to next Thursday's summit to come up with a solution that Belgium can accept. So far the EU has refrained from using the principal funds directly but since last year has paid the "windfall profits" from them to Ukraine. In 2024 that was €3.7bn. Legally, using the revenue is seen as permissible as Russia is under sanction and the earnings are not Moscow's sovereign assets. But foreign defense assistance for Ukraine has slipped dramatically in 2025, and Europe has struggled to compensate for the shortfall resulting from the US decision to virtually halt funding Ukraine under President Donald Trump. There are currently two EU proposals designed to supplying Ukraine with €90bn, to finance two-thirds of its funding needs. Option one is to secure the capital on the markets, secured against the EU budget as a collateral. This is Belgium's preferred option but it needs a agreement by all by EU leaders and that would be problematic when Hungary and Slovakia object to funding Ukraine's military. The alternative is providing a loan of Ukraine cash from the frozen Russian funds, which were initially held in bonds but have now largely turned into cash. That money is Euroclear property located within the European Central Bank. Brussels' executive arm recognizes Belgium has valid worries and says it is convinced it has dealt with them. The plan is for Belgium to be protected with a assurance covering all the €210bn of Russian assets in the EU. Should Euroclear suffer a loss of its own assets in Russia, the loss would be compensated from assets belonging to Russia's own clearing house which are in the EU. If Russia took legal action against Belgium itself, any ruling by a Russian court would not be accepted in the EU. In a significant move, EU ambassadors are expected to agree on Friday to immobilise Russia's central bank assets held in Europe indefinitely. Until now they have had to vote unanimously every six months to renew the freeze, which could have meant a repeated risk to Belgium. The EU ambassadors are planning to use an special provision under Article 122 of the EU Treaties so the assets continue to be immobilized as long as an "direct danger to the economic security of the union" continues. The Reasons Belgium is Remains On Board Belgium is adamant it remains a strong supporter of Ukraine, but identifies legal risks in the plan and is concerned about being left to handle the fallout if things do not work out. A normally divided political landscape in this case has come together in support of Prime Minister Bart de Wever, who is facing pressure from other European officials. "Belgium has a modest-sized economy. Belgian GDP is approximately €565bn – imagine if it would need to bear a €185bn bill," says Veerle Colaert, professor of financial law at KU Leuven University. Although the EU might be able to obtain enough guarantees for the loan itself, Belgium is concerned about an additional danger of being vulnerable to extra fines or liabilities. Prof Colaert also contends the requirement for Euroclear to provide a loan to the EU would violate EU banking regulations. "Banks need to comply with capital and liquidity requirements and shouldn't make one enormous loan. Now the EU is asking Euroclear to do exactly that. "What is the purpose of these financial regulations? It's because we want banks to be stable. And if things turn sour it would be up to Belgium to save Euroclear. That's an additional reason why it's so vital for Belgium to secure ironclad assurances for Euroclear." EU Leaders Under Pressure from Every Direction There is no time to lose, caution seven EU member states including those neighboring Russia such as the Baltics, Finland and Poland. They maintain the proposal to use Russian funds is "the economically realistic and politically achievable solution". "It is a decisive moment for us," states leading German conservative MP Norbert Röttgen. "Should we not succeed, I don't know what we'll do next. That's why we have to succeed in a week's time". While Russia is unyielding its money should not be accessed, there are added concerns among leaders in Europe that the US may want to deploy Russia's immobilized billions in another way, as part of its own peace plan. Zelensky has said Ukraine is in discussions with Europe and the US on a reconstruction fund, but he is also cognizant the US has been engaging with Russia about future co-operation. An initial document of the US peace plan mentioned $100bn of Russia's frozen assets being used by the US for reconstruction, with the US {taking|receiving
Kyiv remains running out of funding to keep going its armed forces and economy afloat, after nearly four years of Russia's full-scale war. From the EU's perspective, the remedy to filling Ukraine's funding gap of €135.7bn for the coming 24 months is found in assets belonging to Russia that are frozen located within Belgian bank Euroclear, and Brussels seek to give it the green light at their EU leaders' conference next week. Moscow's representatives warn the EU plan would be an act of theft, and Moscow's monetary authority declared on Friday it was suing Euroclear in a Moscow court ahead of a final decision is made. 'Appropriate' to Employ Moscow's Funds, Say Kyiv and Brussels Overall, Russia has approximately €210bn of its funds immobilized in the EU, and €185bn of that is managed by Euroclear. European and Ukrainian authorities argue that that capital should be used to reconstruct what Russia has laid waste to: EU officials calls it a "reparations loan" and has proposed a plan to support Ukraine's economy amounting to €90bn. "It's only fair that Russia's frozen assets should be used to reconstruct what Russia has devastated – and that money then becomes Ukraine's," states Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Germany's leader Friedrich Merz says the assets will "allow Ukraine to shield itself effectively against subsequent Russian attacks". The legal move by Moscow was foreseen in Brussels. But it is not just Moscow that is dissatisfied. Belgium is concerned it will be left with an enormous bill if it all goes wrong, and Euroclear head Valérie Urbain says using the assets could "disrupt the global financial architecture". Euroclear also has an estimated €16-17bn frozen in Russia. The leader of Belgium Bart de Wever has set the EU a series of "rational, reasonable, and justified conditions" before he will endorse the reparations plan, and he has not excluded legal action if it "poses significant risks" for his country. What is the EU's Proposal? Brussels is racing against time prior to next Thursday's summit to come up with a solution that Belgium can accept. So far the EU has refrained from using the principal funds directly but since last year has paid the "windfall profits" from them to Ukraine. In 2024 that was €3.7bn. Legally, using the revenue is seen as permissible as Russia is under sanction and the earnings are not Moscow's sovereign assets. But foreign defense assistance for Ukraine has slipped dramatically in 2025, and Europe has struggled to compensate for the shortfall resulting from the US decision to virtually halt funding Ukraine under President Donald Trump. There are currently two EU proposals designed to supplying Ukraine with €90bn, to finance two-thirds of its funding needs. Option one is to secure the capital on the markets, secured against the EU budget as a collateral. This is Belgium's preferred option but it needs a agreement by all by EU leaders and that would be problematic when Hungary and Slovakia object to funding Ukraine's military. The alternative is providing a loan of Ukraine cash from the frozen Russian funds, which were initially held in bonds but have now largely turned into cash. That money is Euroclear property located within the European Central Bank. Brussels' executive arm recognizes Belgium has valid worries and says it is convinced it has dealt with them. The plan is for Belgium to be protected with a assurance covering all the €210bn of Russian assets in the EU. Should Euroclear suffer a loss of its own assets in Russia, the loss would be compensated from assets belonging to Russia's own clearing house which are in the EU. If Russia took legal action against Belgium itself, any ruling by a Russian court would not be accepted in the EU. In a significant move, EU ambassadors are expected to agree on Friday to immobilise Russia's central bank assets held in Europe indefinitely. Until now they have had to vote unanimously every six months to renew the freeze, which could have meant a repeated risk to Belgium. The EU ambassadors are planning to use an special provision under Article 122 of the EU Treaties so the assets continue to be immobilized as long as an "direct danger to the economic security of the union" continues. The Reasons Belgium is Remains On Board Belgium is adamant it remains a strong supporter of Ukraine, but identifies legal risks in the plan and is concerned about being left to handle the fallout if things do not work out. A normally divided political landscape in this case has come together in support of Prime Minister Bart de Wever, who is facing pressure from other European officials. "Belgium has a modest-sized economy. Belgian GDP is approximately €565bn – imagine if it would need to bear a €185bn bill," says Veerle Colaert, professor of financial law at KU Leuven University. Although the EU might be able to obtain enough guarantees for the loan itself, Belgium is concerned about an additional danger of being vulnerable to extra fines or liabilities. Prof Colaert also contends the requirement for Euroclear to provide a loan to the EU would violate EU banking regulations. "Banks need to comply with capital and liquidity requirements and shouldn't make one enormous loan. Now the EU is asking Euroclear to do exactly that. "What is the purpose of these financial regulations? It's because we want banks to be stable. And if things turn sour it would be up to Belgium to save Euroclear. That's an additional reason why it's so vital for Belgium to secure ironclad assurances for Euroclear." EU Leaders Under Pressure from Every Direction There is no time to lose, caution seven EU member states including those neighboring Russia such as the Baltics, Finland and Poland. They maintain the proposal to use Russian funds is "the economically realistic and politically achievable solution". "It is a decisive moment for us," states leading German conservative MP Norbert Röttgen. "Should we not succeed, I don't know what we'll do next. That's why we have to succeed in a week's time". While Russia is unyielding its money should not be accessed, there are added concerns among leaders in Europe that the US may want to deploy Russia's immobilized billions in another way, as part of its own peace plan. Zelensky has said Ukraine is in discussions with Europe and the US on a reconstruction fund, but he is also cognizant the US has been engaging with Russia about future co-operation. An initial document of the US peace plan mentioned $100bn of Russia's frozen assets being used by the US for reconstruction, with the US {taking|receiving