According to Zelensky, there is a political readiness in Europe to direct frozen Russian assets “in full support of Ukraine.”
“And yesterday at the European Council a political decision was made. There is a clear format for the use of assets, and this format exists. Now we in Europe have agreed that this format should be implemented by the end of the year,” the president noted. “In general, the mood in Europe is such that we understand: next year funding for Ukraine, for our people, will be provided.”
Context
Western countries have frozen approximately €278 billion of assets of the Russian Central Bank, of which almost €200 billion are in the EU. The largest share – approximately €176 billion – is kept in Belgium, in the Euroclear depository. The G7 countries agreed to use the interest accumulated from the frozen funds (approximately €46.3 billion annually) as a loan to Ukraine.
On September 10, 2025, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a new strategy to support Ukraine using frozen Russian assets. As Reuters columnist Hugo Dixon explained, the so-called reparations loan proposal suggests the country could obtain funding from frozen Russian assets without outright confiscation. According to the plan, these funds can either be transferred to a special company that will provide a loan to Kyiv, or invested in EU bonds, the profit from which will be received by Ukraine.
On October 21, Politico wrote that Belgium had agreed to the European Commission submitting a legal proposal to use frozen state assets of the Russian Federation to provide Ukraine with a large-scale “reparation loan” of €140 billion.
On October 23, the President of the European Council, António Costa, before the start of the European Council meeting in Brussels, assured Zelensky that the leaders of the EU member states would confirm their support for Ukraine and would be able to decide on a reparation loan from frozen Russian assets for the period 2026–2027.
On the same day, Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever named three conditions under which he would agree to support the idea of a “reparation loan.”
