Ukraine called on the EU to repay the debt using frozen Russian cash

Ukraine’s president has called on the European Union to back a plan to release billions of euros in frozen Russian cash to help fund the country’s defense.

As EU leaders meet in Brussels, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he hoped they would take a “positive decision” on the use of €140bn (£122bn) in Russian assets currently in a Belgian clearing house.

The controversial move will come on top of sanctions imposed on Russia – the latest on Thursday targeting the Kremlin’s oil revenues.

They previously followed US measures against Russia’s oil industry – the first time President Donald Trump has sanctioned Moscow as he grew frustrated with President Vladimir Putin’s refusal to end the war.

On Wednesday evening, the US President confirmed that a planned meeting with Putin in Budapest had been postponed indefinitely.

“Every time I talk to Wladimir I have a good conversation and then they don’t go anywhere,” he said.

US sanctions targeted Russian oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil.

On Thursday, European ministers discussed how billions of euros of frozen Russian cash could be made available to Ukraine as so-called “reparation loans”.

Zelenskiy, who attended the summit in Brussels, said: “I hope they will make a political decision, a positive decision, to help Ukraine with funding.

“Russia brought war to our land and they paid the price for this war,” he said

There are many legal complications with using Russian money.

Belgium, in particular, has been reluctant to use frozen assets to give back, as it worries about any possible repercussions if Russia were to legally challenge Euroclear.

EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Callas admitted there were “some problems” with using assets for loans.

But she said: “The basic message is that Russia is responsible for the damage in Ukraine and will have to pay.”

Russia has criticized the idea. Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said, “Any confiscation initiatives in Brussels will inevitably have a painful response.”

The EU’s latest measures against Russia target three Chinese businesses, including two oil refineries and an energy trader, which are “significant buyers of Russian crude”.

“These are measures to deprive Russia of the means to fund this war,” she said, also sending a message, specifically, that “Russia cannot outrun us,” she said.

China condemned the move, which a Commerce Ministry spokesman said “seriously undermines the overall framework of China-EU economic and trade cooperation”.