EU postpones Russian asset seizure scheme with Belgium afraid of being left holding the bag

Published October 24, 2025 12:27pm ET



Member states of the European Union have committed to funding Ukraine through 2027, but they have temporarily abandoned plans to leverage frozen Russian assets into a war loan.

The European Council affirmed its intention to inject funds into Ukraine’s military and defense budget in early 2026, but the $163 billion loan intended to be financed by Russian accounts held in European financial institutions was scrapped — at least until December.

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