Europeans sketch out plan B in race to raid Russian assets for Ukraine

NOVEMBER 26, 2025 4:12 AM CET
BY TIM ROSS, GREGORIO SORGI AND BJARKE SMITH-MEYERBRUSSELS — European countries are working on an emergency plan B to stop Ukraine running out of money early next year in case they cannot reach a deal on raiding Russia’s frozen assets to fund Kyiv’s war effort.

At a summit a month ago European Union leaders hoped to agree on a proposal to use Moscow’s immobilized reserves for a €140 billion “reparations loan” to Ukraine but the idea ran into fierce oppositionfrom Bart De Wever, the prime minister of Belgium, where the money is held.

Now, with peace talks intensifying, and Kyiv running short of cash, the question of what to do with the Russian assets has taken on a new urgency. “If we don’t move, others will move before us,” said one EU official, granted anonymity like others cited here, to speak freely

EU diplomats expect European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to order her officials to present a draft legal text on the reparations loan within days as momentum grows for a solution.

But despite intensive talks between Belgium and Commission in recent weeks, De Wever still has concerns about legal liabilities and the risk of retaliation from Moscow if the Russian funds were used for the loan.

So policy specialists in Brussels are now turning to how to help Ukraine in the event that the reparations loan proposal does not come together in time for EU leaders to sign off on it at a summit on Dec. 18.

One option gaining support is for a “bridging” loan, financed by EU borrowing, to keep Ukraine afloat during the first months of 2026, according to four officials. That would allow more time to set up the full reparations loan using the Russian assets in a way that Belgium can live with, to provide a longer term solution.

In the longer term, the reparations loan is widely seen as the only game in town. There is no appetite among EU member countries to dip into their own national budgets to send cash grants to Ukraine. Many are already struggling with budget deficits and high borrowing costs. Persuading the Belgians to come on board ultimately is therefore seen as key.

“We hope to be able to solve their hesitation,” one EU diplomat said. “We really do not see any other possible option than the reparations loan.” One idea would be to “combine the reparations loan option with one of the other options” the diplomat said. But this must “not take too much time because of course there’s a sense of urgency now and it’s pressing.”

There are still problems with creating a bridging loan using joint EU borrowing, which some commentators have described as “eurobonds” though others dislike the term.

Perhaps the biggest obstacle will be that this kind of EU borrowing would require unanimous support from the bloc’s 27 member countries and Hungary has long opposed new measures to help finance Ukraine’s war effort.