Nigeria TV Info 

EU Agrees €90bn Loan for Ukraine, Shelves Use of Russian Assets

BRUSSELS, Belgium — European Union leaders have reached a major agreement to provide Ukraine with a €90 billion interest‑free loan aimed at financing Kyiv’s military and economic needs through 2026‑27, amid the ongoing war with Russia. The deal, agreed after intense deliberations at a high‑stakes summit in Brussels, marks one of the bloc’s largest coordinated financial commitments to date.

The original plan to finance the support by tapping into €210 billion in frozen Russian central bank assets held across the EU — particularly at the Euroclear financial settlement system in Belgium — collapsed due to legal concerns and political resistance, most notably from Belgium itself, which holds the majority of those assets and demanded stronger liability protections.

Instead, EU leaders agreed to raise the €90 billion through joint borrowing on capital markets, backed by the EU’s common budget, ensuring Ukraine receives the funds while sidestepping the legal and diplomatic risks tied to confiscating Russian sovereign assets. Under the deal, Ukraine would only be expected to repay the loan if and when Russia pays war reparations — a provision reflecting both solidarity with Kyiv and respect for international law.

The agreement gained critical support after concessions to nationalist‑leaning EU states like Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, which opposed direct contributions to the loan. These governments agreed not to block the package in exchange for assurances they will not bear disproportionate financial costs.

Although the plan to use frozen Russian assets was shelved for now, EU officials emphasised that they reserve the right to revisit this option in future, potentially using those assets to repay the loan or secure reparations if legal and political hurdles can be overcome.