EU approves €90bn Ukraine loan, skipping frozen Russian assets

EU leaders have struck a deal to provide Ukraine with a €90bn loan over the next two years, backed by the bloc’s common budget. The agreement comes after more than a day of talks at a Brussels summit and deliberately avoids using frozen Russian assets. The move aims to meet Kyiv’s military and economic needs during a critical period, while offering a predictable financing path for the coming years.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had pushed to tap roughly €200 billion of frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine’s defence, but Belgium, where most of that cash sits, insisted on guarantees and liability-sharing provisions that proved too controversial for other member states. The compromise leaves the assets untouched and instead relies on EU borrowing backed by the union’s budget, with oversight and liability arrangements handled within the bloc.

Under the plan, the loan will be disbursed as Kyiv requires, supporting defence, energy resilience, and economic stabilization. The two-year window is designed to provide steady funding amid ongoing combat operations and the broader need to keep Ukraine’s government functioning under pressure from the war.

The deal signals a pragmatic outcome after intense negotiations, balancing Ukraine’s immediate needs with member states’ concerns about liability, legal exposure, and political optics. EU officials emphasize that the loan is a temporary bridge, not a substitute for other forms of support, and will be financed through existing EU borrowing channels rather than any frozen assets.

What happens next is a process of ratification and operational planning by the member states, with details on disbursement schedules, oversight, and accountability to be finalised. EU officials say the arrangement will help Kyiv secure essential resources while Kyiv continues to seek long-term security guarantees and international support.

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