🔗 Share this article Russia Hits Back at the EU's Plan to Lend Immobilized Russian Cash to Kyiv Ukraine is depleting its cash to keep going its military and economy afloat, after nearly four years of the ongoing invasion by Moscow. In the view of European leaders, the remedy to filling Ukraine's budget hole of €135.7bn for the coming 24 months rests with frozen Russian assets held by Belgian bank Euroclear, and European Union officials hope to finalize the plan at their EU leaders' conference next week. Moscow's representatives caution the EU plan would be an act of theft, and Moscow's monetary authority declared on Friday it was taking to court Euroclear in a Moscow court ahead of a definitive agreement is made. 'Only Fair' to Utilize Russia's Assets, Assert Ukraine and the EU All told, Russia has about €210bn of its state reserves frozen in the EU, and €185bn of that is managed by Euroclear. The EU and Ukraine argue that money should be used to rebuild what Russia has devastated: EU officials calls it a "loan for reparations" and has proposed a plan to support Ukraine's economy to the tune of €90bn. "It is appropriate that the assets frozen from Russia should be used to rebuild what Russia has devastated – and that that capital then becomes Ukraine's," remarks Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Germany's leader Friedrich Merz states the assets will "enable Ukraine to shield itself successfully against any future Russian attacks". Russia's court action was foreseen in Brussels. But it is not just Moscow that is dissatisfied. Authorities in Brussels is worried it will be burdened by an huge bill if it all fails, and Euroclear CEO Valérie Urbain argues using the assets could "undermine the world's financial order". Euroclear also has an roughly €16-17bn immobilised in Russia. Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever has set the EU a series of "logical, sensible, and warranted conditions" before he will accept the reparations plan, and he has left open the possibility of legal action if it "poses significant risks" for his country. Explaining the EU's Strategy? The EU is working to the wire ahead of next Thursday's summit to come up with a compromise that Belgium can accept. Until now the EU has avoided accessing the assets themselves directly but starting in 2024 has paid the "windfall profits" from them to Ukraine. In 2024 that was €3.7bn. From a legal standpoint, using the revenue is considered permissible as Russia is under sanction and the returns are not Russian sovereign property. But global military support for Ukraine has fallen significantly in 2025, and Europe has found it difficult to make up the gap caused by the US decision to largely cease funding Ukraine under President Donald Trump. There are currently two EU options designed to furnishing Ukraine with €90bn, to finance a large portion of its funding needs. One is to raise the money on the markets, secured against the EU budget as a collateral. This is Belgium's favored solution but it demands a unanimous vote by EU leaders and that would be challenging when Hungary and Slovakia oppose funding Ukraine's military. That leaves lending Ukraine cash from the Moscow's immobilized capital, which were originally held in securities but have now mostly turned into cash. That funding is Euroclear property held in the European Central Bank. The EU's executive acknowledges Belgium has justified fears and states it is convinced it has addressed them. The proposal is for Belgium to be shielded with a assurance covering all the €210bn of Russian assets in the EU. If Euroclear face a financial hit of its own assets in Russia, the shortfall would be covered from assets belonging to Russia's own settlement agency which are in the EU. Should Russia targeted Belgium itself, any ruling by a Russian court would not be recognized in the EU. As an important step, EU ambassadors are expected to agree on Friday to immobilise Russia's central bank assets held in Europe for the foreseeable future. Previously they have had to vote by consensus every six months to renew the freeze, which could have meant a repeated risk to Belgium. The EU ambassadors are set to use an special provision under Article 122 of the EU Treaties so the assets stay blocked as long as an "immediate threat to the economic security of the union" continues. Why Belgium is Still Not Satisfied Belgium is firm it remains a staunch ally of Ukraine, but identifies regulatory pitfalls in the plan and is concerned about being shouldering the fallout if things do not work out. A usually fractured political scene in this case has united behind 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 shoulder a €185bn bill," says Veerle Colaert, expert in financial law at KU Leuven University. While the EU might be able to secure enough protections for the loan itself, Belgium fears an added risk of being subject to extra legal costs. Prof Colaert also believes the demand for Euroclear to provide a loan to the EU would contravene EU banking regulations. "Lenders need to comply with stability regulations and shouldn't make one enormous loan. Now the EU is instructing Euroclear to do precisely that. "Why do we have these banking laws? It's because we want banks to be solvent. And if things turn sour it would be up to Belgium to rescue Euroclear. That's a further cause why it's so important for Belgium to secure ironclad guarantees for Euroclear." Europe In a Difficult Position from Multiple Fronts Time is of the essence, caution several EU member states including those closest to Russia such as the Baltics, Finland and Poland. They believe the frozen assets plan is "the economically realistic and politically realistic solution". "It's a matter of destiny for us," warns leading German conservative MP Norbert Röttgen. "If the plan collapses, I don't know what we'll do subsequently. That's why we have to succeed in a week's time". While Russia is insistent its money should not be used, there are additional apprehensions among European figures that the US may want to employ Russia's frozen billions differently, as part of its own peace plan. Zelensky has stated Ukraine is working with Europe and the US on a recovery fund, but he is also aware the US has been engaging with Russia about potential collaboration. A preliminary version of the US peace plan suggested $100bn of Russia's immobilized capital being used by the US for reconstruction, with the US {taking|receiving
Ukraine is depleting its cash to keep going its military and economy afloat, after nearly four years of the ongoing invasion by Moscow. In the view of European leaders, the remedy to filling Ukraine's budget hole of €135.7bn for the coming 24 months rests with frozen Russian assets held by Belgian bank Euroclear, and European Union officials hope to finalize the plan at their EU leaders' conference next week. Moscow's representatives caution the EU plan would be an act of theft, and Moscow's monetary authority declared on Friday it was taking to court Euroclear in a Moscow court ahead of a definitive agreement is made. 'Only Fair' to Utilize Russia's Assets, Assert Ukraine and the EU All told, Russia has about €210bn of its state reserves frozen in the EU, and €185bn of that is managed by Euroclear. The EU and Ukraine argue that money should be used to rebuild what Russia has devastated: EU officials calls it a "loan for reparations" and has proposed a plan to support Ukraine's economy to the tune of €90bn. "It is appropriate that the assets frozen from Russia should be used to rebuild what Russia has devastated – and that that capital then becomes Ukraine's," remarks Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Germany's leader Friedrich Merz states the assets will "enable Ukraine to shield itself successfully against any future Russian attacks". Russia's court action was foreseen in Brussels. But it is not just Moscow that is dissatisfied. Authorities in Brussels is worried it will be burdened by an huge bill if it all fails, and Euroclear CEO Valérie Urbain argues using the assets could "undermine the world's financial order". Euroclear also has an roughly €16-17bn immobilised in Russia. Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever has set the EU a series of "logical, sensible, and warranted conditions" before he will accept the reparations plan, and he has left open the possibility of legal action if it "poses significant risks" for his country. Explaining the EU's Strategy? The EU is working to the wire ahead of next Thursday's summit to come up with a compromise that Belgium can accept. Until now the EU has avoided accessing the assets themselves directly but starting in 2024 has paid the "windfall profits" from them to Ukraine. In 2024 that was €3.7bn. From a legal standpoint, using the revenue is considered permissible as Russia is under sanction and the returns are not Russian sovereign property. But global military support for Ukraine has fallen significantly in 2025, and Europe has found it difficult to make up the gap caused by the US decision to largely cease funding Ukraine under President Donald Trump. There are currently two EU options designed to furnishing Ukraine with €90bn, to finance a large portion of its funding needs. One is to raise the money on the markets, secured against the EU budget as a collateral. This is Belgium's favored solution but it demands a unanimous vote by EU leaders and that would be challenging when Hungary and Slovakia oppose funding Ukraine's military. That leaves lending Ukraine cash from the Moscow's immobilized capital, which were originally held in securities but have now mostly turned into cash. That funding is Euroclear property held in the European Central Bank. The EU's executive acknowledges Belgium has justified fears and states it is convinced it has addressed them. The proposal is for Belgium to be shielded with a assurance covering all the €210bn of Russian assets in the EU. If Euroclear face a financial hit of its own assets in Russia, the shortfall would be covered from assets belonging to Russia's own settlement agency which are in the EU. Should Russia targeted Belgium itself, any ruling by a Russian court would not be recognized in the EU. As an important step, EU ambassadors are expected to agree on Friday to immobilise Russia's central bank assets held in Europe for the foreseeable future. Previously they have had to vote by consensus every six months to renew the freeze, which could have meant a repeated risk to Belgium. The EU ambassadors are set to use an special provision under Article 122 of the EU Treaties so the assets stay blocked as long as an "immediate threat to the economic security of the union" continues. Why Belgium is Still Not Satisfied Belgium is firm it remains a staunch ally of Ukraine, but identifies regulatory pitfalls in the plan and is concerned about being shouldering the fallout if things do not work out. A usually fractured political scene in this case has united behind 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 shoulder a €185bn bill," says Veerle Colaert, expert in financial law at KU Leuven University. While the EU might be able to secure enough protections for the loan itself, Belgium fears an added risk of being subject to extra legal costs. Prof Colaert also believes the demand for Euroclear to provide a loan to the EU would contravene EU banking regulations. "Lenders need to comply with stability regulations and shouldn't make one enormous loan. Now the EU is instructing Euroclear to do precisely that. "Why do we have these banking laws? It's because we want banks to be solvent. And if things turn sour it would be up to Belgium to rescue Euroclear. That's a further cause why it's so important for Belgium to secure ironclad guarantees for Euroclear." Europe In a Difficult Position from Multiple Fronts Time is of the essence, caution several EU member states including those closest to Russia such as the Baltics, Finland and Poland. They believe the frozen assets plan is "the economically realistic and politically realistic solution". "It's a matter of destiny for us," warns leading German conservative MP Norbert Röttgen. "If the plan collapses, I don't know what we'll do subsequently. That's why we have to succeed in a week's time". While Russia is insistent its money should not be used, there are additional apprehensions among European figures that the US may want to employ Russia's frozen billions differently, as part of its own peace plan. Zelensky has stated Ukraine is working with Europe and the US on a recovery fund, but he is also aware the US has been engaging with Russia about potential collaboration. A preliminary version of the US peace plan suggested $100bn of Russia's immobilized capital being used by the US for reconstruction, with the US {taking|receiving