The European Union (EU) countries have agreed to provide a loan to cover Ukraine's expenses for the next two years using frozen Russian assets. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who participated as a guest at the EU summit, said that Ukraine hopes to secure a loan of approximately 163 billion rufiyaa through the EU in the coming days using Russian assets. The Russian assets intended for use in this scheme are under Belgium's supervision, and Belgium has set conditions for proceeding with this plan.
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said that the scheme must be carried out transparently, with other EU countries agreeing to equally share the risks that Belgium might face. As such, one of Belgium's conditions is that if the Russian assets used in this scheme need to be returned in the future, the costs should be borne jointly by EU countries. Additionally, Belgium wants to use Russian assets frozen by other countries in this scheme as well.
De Croo warned that if these conditions are not agreed upon, he would work against the scheme both within the union and at the national level. EU Council President Charles Michel said that the EU has agreed to fund the weapons and military equipment needed by Ukraine for the next two years through this scheme. According to Reuters, citing a senior Ukrainian government official, Ukraine needs this money before the end of this year. The news agency also reported that Ukraine wants the freedom to spend this money on its needs
The EU's decision to fund Ukraine using Russian assets comes at a time when additional sanctions have been imposed against Russia. In addition to the EU, the United States has also imposed sanctions against Russia's two main oil companies today. The US imposed new sanctions against Russia after President Donald Trump canceled a scheduled meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump canceled the meeting, stating that there was no point in meeting with Putin.
