The EU approved a loan to Ukraine for the years 2026 and 2027 in the amount of 90 billion euros. However, no agreement was reached for the use of frozen Russian assets.
- Russia appreciated the EU compromise on financial aid to Ukraine.
- The EU will provide Ukraine with an interest-free loan of 90 billion euros.
- The decision of the European Council divides opinion among EU leaders.
Russia positively perceives the compromise reached by the countries of the European Union in the matter of further financial assistance to Ukraine. “So far, the law and common sense have prevailed,” Russian special envoy Kirill Dmitriev wrote on the Telegram platform on Friday. TASR informs about it with reference to the DPA agency.
According to Dmitriyev, the decision of the summit of the European Council is a big blow “to the warmongers led by the unsuccessful Ursula”, thus alluding to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
Criticism of European leaders
“The few voices of reason in the EU have so far prevented the illegal use of Russian assets to finance Ukraine,” Dmitriev said.
On Platform X, Dmitriyev wrote that Von der Leyen, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer failed miserably when they pushed for illegal moves to seize Russian assets, claiming there was no other alternative. “Obviously there is,” Dmitriev noted, adding, “The whole world just saw how you didn’t force others to break the law.”
Aid to Ukraine without frozen assets
EU leaders agreed at the European Council meeting on Friday night that the Union will provide Ukraine with an interest-free loan of 90 billion euros for 2026 and 2027. The European Commission will borrow this amount at favorable interest rates on the capital markets, then lend this money to Ukraine. His budget will vouch for them. However, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia will not join the guarantees.
German Chancellor Merz did not push through his proposal at the summit to use frozen Russian assets worth 210 billion euros to help Ukraine. Especially France and Italy were against it. Most of these assets are stored in the Euroclear financial institution based in Belgium, which it does not want to access due to fears of retaliatory actions by Russia. This threatened to tap into the money of private investors and companies from Western countries.
