Four EU countries push Brussels to reopen the frozen Russian assets debate

Four European Union nations—Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain, and Poland—have called upon Brussels to resume discussions on utilizing frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine, reports the Financial Times. This comes amid worries that Kyiv might confront another financing gap. Initial plans to fund Ukraine with over €200 billion in Russian central bank assets—frozen in the EU following Russia's full-scale invasion—fell through last winter.

Belgian officials blocked the proposal due to legal concerns over potential Russian claims. Russian central bank assets amounting to €260 billion have been frozen in Western countries since the war started in 2022. Most of these funds, roughly €193 billion, are held by Belgium's depository Euroclear. The European Union has deliberated several avenues for leveraging these assets.

One proposed approach involves issuing Ukraine a "reparations loan" funded by Russian assets, with repayment contingent upon Russia compensating Ukraine for the damage it inflicted. Belgium outright opposed this proposal, citing significant legal risks. Profits generated from the Russian assets frozen at Euroclear are currently being employed to finance a loan to Ukraine of up to €50 billion, approved by the EU in 2024.

The European Union extended an indefinite freeze on Russian assets in December 2025, a move not dependent on the agreement of all member states. This freeze will persist until Russia concludes the war and compensates Ukraine for the inflicted damage. The coalition penned a letter to the European Commission articulating this stance, as confirmed by sources cited by the FT.

On August 26, the Ukrainian publication Kyiv Independent released a draft of this open letter, which Sweden spearheaded in drafting. The authors and signatories urge the resumption of efforts to employ Russian assets and request a progress report on alternative mechanisms that could circumvent Belgium's veto. One FT source indicated that the document calls for the European Commission to undertake the necessary technical steps to deploy Russian assets to support Ukraine.

While the letter was submitted on Thursday, no alternative solution has been proposed thus far that would evade the political hurdles previously encountered. EU countries were unable to reach an agreement in December 2025 on financing a "reparations loan" for Ukraine using frozen Russian assets. Instead, they opted for an €90 billion loan backed by the EU's own budget.

Moreover, in the same month, the EU agreed to continue exploring a "reparations loan" based on frozen Russian assets, though no public details have emerged regarding this ongoing work. Meduza emphasizes its commitment to transparency regarding AI usage within its newsroom. The aforementioned report was authored by a human journalist and translated from Russian using an AI model adhering to stringent editorial standards.

Each draft undergoes review by a Meduza editor before publication. Readers are encouraged to report any errors in the translation to reports@meduza.io.