🔗 Share this article Moscow Hits Back at the EU's Plan to Loan Immobilized Russian Cash to Kyiv Ukraine is running out of financial resources to keep going its military and economy, after nearly four years of Russia's full-scale war. In the view of European leaders, the solution to plugging Ukraine's funding gap of €135.7bn for the following biennium is found in assets belonging to Russia that are frozen sitting in Belgian bank Euroclear, and Brussels hope to finalize the plan at their Brussels summit next week. Russian officials caution the EU plan would be an act of theft, and Moscow's monetary authority declared on Friday it was suing Euroclear in a Moscow court ahead of a final decision is made. 'Just' to Employ Russia's Funds, Say Ukraine and the EU Overall, Russia has approximately €210bn of its state reserves frozen in the EU, and €185bn of that is held by Euroclear. Brussels and Kyiv maintain that those funds should be used to rebuild what Russia has destroyed: EU officials calls it a "reparations loan" and has proposed a plan to bolster Ukraine's economy amounting to €90bn. "It is only just that Moscow's blocked funds should be used to rebuild what Russia has devastated – and that money then becomes Ukraine's," says Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says the assets will "allow Ukraine to defend itself effectively against future Russian attacks". The legal move by Moscow was anticipated in Brussels. But it is not only Moscow that is unhappy. Belgium is anxious it will be burdened by an enormous bill if it all goes wrong, and Euroclear chief executive Valérie Urbain warns using the assets could "disrupt the global financial architecture". Euroclear also has an estimated €16-17bn immobilised in Russia. Belgium's PM Bart de Wever has presented the EU with a series of "pragmatic, fair, and legitimate conditions" before he will accept the reconstruction loan scheme, and he has left open the possibility of legal action if it "poses significant risks" for his country. The Details of the EU's Plan? The EU is under pressure before next Thursday's summit to agree on a solution that Belgium can accept. So far the EU has avoided touching the assets themselves directly but starting in 2024 has transferred the "excess income" from them to Ukraine. In 2024 that was €3.7bn. Legally, using the interest is considered less risky as Russia is sanctioned and the returns are not property of the Russian state. But international military aid for Ukraine has declined sharply in 2025, and Europe has found it difficult to cover the shortfall caused by the US decision to virtually halt funding Ukraine under President Donald Trump. There are presently two EU plans aimed at furnishing Ukraine with €90bn, to cover two-thirds of its budgetary necessities. One is to raise the money on the markets, guaranteed by the EU budget as a guarantee. This is Belgium's preferred option but it requires a unanimous vote by EU leaders and that would be difficult when two member states are against funding Ukraine's military. The alternative is loaning Ukraine cash from the Russian assets, which were at first held in bonds but have now predominantly turned into cash. That capital is Euroclear property located within the European Central Bank. The European Commission acknowledges Belgium has valid worries and states it is assured it has addressed them. The proposal is for Belgium to be shielded with a assurance applying to all the €210bn of Russian assets in the EU. Should Euroclear face a financial hit of its own assets in Russia, the loss would be compensated from assets belonging to Russia's own settlement agency which are in the EU. Should Russia went after Belgium itself, any ruling by a Russian court would not be enforced in the EU. In a key development, EU ambassadors are poised to endorse on Friday to immobilise Russia's central bank assets held in Europe permanently. Until now they have had to vote all together every six months to continue the freeze, which could have meant a ongoing risk to Belgium. The EU ambassadors are set to use an extraordinary measure under Article 122 of the EU Treaties so the assets continue to be immobilized as long as an "clear risk to the economic security of the union" continues. Why Belgium is Still Not Satisfied Belgium is firm it remains a strong supporter of Ukraine, but sees juridical dangers in the plan and is concerned about being shouldering the consequences if things go wrong. A normally partisan political environment in this case has come together in support of Prime Minister Bart de Wever, who is under pressure from fellow EU leaders. "Belgium has a modest-sized economy. Belgian GDP is approximately €565bn – imagine if it would need to carry a €185bn bill," notes Veerle Colaert, professor of financial law at KU Leuven University. Although the EU might be able to obtain sufficient protections for the loan itself, Belgium worries about an further exposure of being exposed to extra fines or liabilities. Prof Colaert also believes the stipulation for Euroclear to grant a loan to the EU would contravene EU banking regulations. "Banks need to adhere to capital and liquidity requirements and shouldn't make one enormous loan. Now the EU is asking Euroclear to do precisely that. "Why do we have these bank rules? It's because we want banks to be solvent. And if things go wrong it would fall to Belgium to save Euroclear. That's a further cause why it's so vital for Belgium to obtain water-tight assurances for Euroclear." EU Leaders Under Pressure from Every Direction There is no time to lose, state several EU member states including those neighboring Russia such as the Baltics, Finland and Poland. They maintain the scheme involving immobilized capital is "a financially feasible and politically achievable solution". "It's a matter of destiny for us," says leading German conservative MP Norbert Röttgen. "If we fail, I don't know what we'll do next. That's why we have to succeed in a week's time". Although Russia is unyielding its money should not be accessed, there are added concerns among leaders in Europe that the US may want to employ Russia's frozen billions in another way, as part of its own peace plan. Zelensky has said Ukraine is coordinating with Europe and the US on a recovery fund, but he is also aware the US has been holding discussions with Russia about potential collaboration. An early draft of the US peace plan referred to $100bn of Russia's blocked funds being used by the US for reconstruction, with the US {taking|receiving
Ukraine is running out of financial resources to keep going its military and economy, after nearly four years of Russia's full-scale war. In the view of European leaders, the solution to plugging Ukraine's funding gap of €135.7bn for the following biennium is found in assets belonging to Russia that are frozen sitting in Belgian bank Euroclear, and Brussels hope to finalize the plan at their Brussels summit next week. Russian officials caution the EU plan would be an act of theft, and Moscow's monetary authority declared on Friday it was suing Euroclear in a Moscow court ahead of a final decision is made. 'Just' to Employ Russia's Funds, Say Ukraine and the EU Overall, Russia has approximately €210bn of its state reserves frozen in the EU, and €185bn of that is held by Euroclear. Brussels and Kyiv maintain that those funds should be used to rebuild what Russia has destroyed: EU officials calls it a "reparations loan" and has proposed a plan to bolster Ukraine's economy amounting to €90bn. "It is only just that Moscow's blocked funds should be used to rebuild what Russia has devastated – and that money then becomes Ukraine's," says Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says the assets will "allow Ukraine to defend itself effectively against future Russian attacks". The legal move by Moscow was anticipated in Brussels. But it is not only Moscow that is unhappy. Belgium is anxious it will be burdened by an enormous bill if it all goes wrong, and Euroclear chief executive Valérie Urbain warns using the assets could "disrupt the global financial architecture". Euroclear also has an estimated €16-17bn immobilised in Russia. Belgium's PM Bart de Wever has presented the EU with a series of "pragmatic, fair, and legitimate conditions" before he will accept the reconstruction loan scheme, and he has left open the possibility of legal action if it "poses significant risks" for his country. The Details of the EU's Plan? The EU is under pressure before next Thursday's summit to agree on a solution that Belgium can accept. So far the EU has avoided touching the assets themselves directly but starting in 2024 has transferred the "excess income" from them to Ukraine. In 2024 that was €3.7bn. Legally, using the interest is considered less risky as Russia is sanctioned and the returns are not property of the Russian state. But international military aid for Ukraine has declined sharply in 2025, and Europe has found it difficult to cover the shortfall caused by the US decision to virtually halt funding Ukraine under President Donald Trump. There are presently two EU plans aimed at furnishing Ukraine with €90bn, to cover two-thirds of its budgetary necessities. One is to raise the money on the markets, guaranteed by the EU budget as a guarantee. This is Belgium's preferred option but it requires a unanimous vote by EU leaders and that would be difficult when two member states are against funding Ukraine's military. The alternative is loaning Ukraine cash from the Russian assets, which were at first held in bonds but have now predominantly turned into cash. That capital is Euroclear property located within the European Central Bank. The European Commission acknowledges Belgium has valid worries and states it is assured it has addressed them. The proposal is for Belgium to be shielded with a assurance applying to all the €210bn of Russian assets in the EU. Should Euroclear face a financial hit of its own assets in Russia, the loss would be compensated from assets belonging to Russia's own settlement agency which are in the EU. Should Russia went after Belgium itself, any ruling by a Russian court would not be enforced in the EU. In a key development, EU ambassadors are poised to endorse on Friday to immobilise Russia's central bank assets held in Europe permanently. Until now they have had to vote all together every six months to continue the freeze, which could have meant a ongoing risk to Belgium. The EU ambassadors are set to use an extraordinary measure under Article 122 of the EU Treaties so the assets continue to be immobilized as long as an "clear risk to the economic security of the union" continues. Why Belgium is Still Not Satisfied Belgium is firm it remains a strong supporter of Ukraine, but sees juridical dangers in the plan and is concerned about being shouldering the consequences if things go wrong. A normally partisan political environment in this case has come together in support of Prime Minister Bart de Wever, who is under pressure from fellow EU leaders. "Belgium has a modest-sized economy. Belgian GDP is approximately €565bn – imagine if it would need to carry a €185bn bill," notes Veerle Colaert, professor of financial law at KU Leuven University. Although the EU might be able to obtain sufficient protections for the loan itself, Belgium worries about an further exposure of being exposed to extra fines or liabilities. Prof Colaert also believes the stipulation for Euroclear to grant a loan to the EU would contravene EU banking regulations. "Banks need to adhere to capital and liquidity requirements and shouldn't make one enormous loan. Now the EU is asking Euroclear to do precisely that. "Why do we have these bank rules? It's because we want banks to be solvent. And if things go wrong it would fall to Belgium to save Euroclear. That's a further cause why it's so vital for Belgium to obtain water-tight assurances for Euroclear." EU Leaders Under Pressure from Every Direction There is no time to lose, state several EU member states including those neighboring Russia such as the Baltics, Finland and Poland. They maintain the scheme involving immobilized capital is "a financially feasible and politically achievable solution". "It's a matter of destiny for us," says leading German conservative MP Norbert Röttgen. "If we fail, I don't know what we'll do next. That's why we have to succeed in a week's time". Although Russia is unyielding its money should not be accessed, there are added concerns among leaders in Europe that the US may want to employ Russia's frozen billions in another way, as part of its own peace plan. Zelensky has said Ukraine is coordinating with Europe and the US on a recovery fund, but he is also aware the US has been holding discussions with Russia about potential collaboration. An early draft of the US peace plan referred to $100bn of Russia's blocked funds being used by the US for reconstruction, with the US {taking|receiving