After a night of talks, EU leaders dropped the option of Russian assets and will otherwise help Ukraine / Moscow immediately reacted: “A big blow to the failed Ursula”

European Union leaders decided on Friday to borrow money to fund Ukraine's defense against Russia for the next two years and not use Russian assets “frozen” in the EU, sidestepping disagreements over Kiev's unprecedented plan to finance it with Moscow's money, according to Reuters.

“Today we approved a decision to grant 90 billion euros to Ukraine,” European Council President Antonio Costa told a news conference early Friday after the 16-hour summit in Brussels.

“As an emergency measure, we will grant a loan guaranteed by the European Union budget,” he added.

Kirill Dmitriev, Russian President Vladimir Putin's special envoy for investment and economic cooperation, reacted on Friday morning saying “legality and common sense” had won out.

“A big blow to the EU warmongers led by the failed Ursula — the voices of reason in the EU have blocked the illegal use of Russian reserves to finance Ukraine,” Dmitriev wrote on X.

Nicusor Dan: A loan that Ukraine will repay after the war

President Nicușor Dan, explained after the meeting of the EU leaders, explained that it is about a loan that the Union takes for Ukraine, and the authorities in Kiev will repay it when the war ends.

Because a loan from the Union is needed, unanimity was needed, and three countries – Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic – expressed reservations regarding their contribution, said the Romanian president, according to Agerpres.

EU leaders have also given the European Commission a mandate to continue working on a so-called reparations loan based on Russia's fixed assets, an option that has proven impossible to implement at this point, especially because of opposition from Belgium, where most of the assets are located.

The EU loan idea initially seemed impossible to implement, as it requires unanimity, and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban opposed it. But Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic have agreed to allow the scheme to continue as long as it does not affect them financially.

EU leaders have said Russian assets totaling 210 billion euros that are being seized by the EU will remain frozen until Moscow pays war reparations to Ukraine. If Moscow ever takes such a step, Ukraine could use the money to repay the loan.

Merz: It's bad news for Russia

“This is good news for Ukraine and bad news for Russia, and that was our intention,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said.

The stakes for Kiev to find money were high, because without EU financial aid, Ukraine would have run out of money in the second quarter of next year and most likely lost the war with Russia, which the EU fears would bring closer the threat of Russian aggression against the bloc.

The decision comes after many hours of talks between leaders over the technical details of an unprecedented loan based on frozen Russian assets, which have proved too complex or politically difficult to resolve at this stage.

The main difficulty was to provide Belgium, home to 185 billion euros of total Russian assets in Europe, with sufficient guarantees against the financial and legal risks generated by potential Russian retaliation for releasing money to Ukraine.

“There were so many questions about the compensation loan that we had to go to plan B. Rationality prevailed,” Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever told a news conference. “The EU avoided chaos and division and remained united,” he said.

“Orban got what he wanted”

With public finances across the EU already strained by high debt levels, the European Commission has proposed using Russian assets for a loan to Kiev or a joint loan from the EU budget.

Using the second option allowed Orban to claim a diplomatic victory.

“Orban got what he wanted: no reparations loan. And EU action without the participation of Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia,” said an EU diplomat.

Kaja Kallas: “We simply cannot afford to fail”

Several EU leaders arriving at the summit said it was imperative to find a solution to keep Ukraine funded and fighting for the next two years. They also wanted to demonstrate the strength and determination of European countries after US President Donald Trump last week called them “weak”.

“We simply cannot afford to fail,” said EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who attended the summit, had urged the EU to accept the use of Russian assets to provide the funds he said would allow Ukraine to continue fighting.

“The decision that is now on the table – the decision to fully use Russian assets to defend ourselves against Russian aggression – is one of the clearest and most morally justified decisions that could ever be taken,” the Ukrainian leader said.