Zelensky calls on EU leaders to make a decision regarding the crisis involving Russia’s frozen funds.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy is urging EU leaders gathered at a crunch summit in Brussels to loan billions of euros in frozen Russian funds to meet Ukraine’s military and economic needs.

Most of Russia’s €210bn (£185bn; $245bn) assets in the EU are held by the Belgium-based organisation Euroclear, and so far, Belgium and some other members of the bloc have said they oppose using the cash as a “compensation loan.”

Russia has warned the EU not to use its money, but Ukraine’s finances will collapse within months without a funding increase.

“I hope we will be able to take a positive decision,” Zelenskyy told reporters. “Without it, there’d be a big problem for Ukraine.”

The Brussels summit comes at a critical moment in the war and Russia has filed a lawsuit against Euroclear in a Moscow court to get its money back.

An official from the European government expressed a cautious optimism, not an overly optimistic view, regarding the likelihood of a deal.

On Thursday, Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever told the Belgian parliament, “I have not yet seen any text that could persuade me to change Belgium’s position.”

US President Donald Trump has said a deal is closer than ever to ending the war – which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

US and Russian officials are to meet in Miami later this week for further talks on the peace plan, a White House official told news agency AFP. It is believed that Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev will speak to Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

Ukrainian officials are also visiting the US, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is in Brussels, told reporters that Kiev needs the money, either to support its military as the war continues or to direct funds towards recovery altogether.

Russia has not yet reacted to the latest peace proposals, but the Kremlin has stressed that plans for a US-backed, European-led multinational force for Ukraine would not be acceptable.

President Vladimir Putin made his feelings toward Europe clear on Wednesday when he said the continent was in a state of “complete collapse” and that “European piglets”—a derogatory description of Ukraine’s European allies—were hoping to profit from Russia’s collapse.

The European Commission – the EU’s executive arm – has proposed lending Kyiv about €90bn (£79bn) over the next two years – out of the €210bn of Russian assets held in Europe.

This is almost two-thirds of the €137bn that Kyiv needs to receive by 2026 and 2027.

So far the EU has paid Ukraine interest generated from cash, but not in cash.

“It is a difficult time for Ukraine to continue fighting into the next year,” a Finnish government official told the BBC. “Of course there are peace talks going on but this gives Ukraine an opportunity to say, ‘We are not desperate and we have the funds to continue the fight.'”

Commission head Ursula von der Leyen says this will also increase the cost of war for Russia.

Freezing Russian assets is not the only option for EU leaders. Another idea supported by Belgium is based on the EU borrowing money from international markets using the EU budget as a guarantee.

EU money to help Ukraine.

However, this would require a unanimous vote and Hungary’s Viktor Orban has made clear that he will not allow any more EU money to help Ukraine.

For Ukraine, the coming hours are crucial and EU leaders are keen to emphasise the critical nature of the debt decision.

“We know the urgency of this. It is intense. We all feel it. We all see it,” von der Leyen told the European Parliament.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has taken a leading role in pushing for the use of Russian assets, telling the Bundestag on the eve of the summit that it was about sending a “clear signal” to Moscow that continuing the war was futile.

EU officials are confident they have a solid legal basis for using frozen Russian assets, but so far the Belgian prime minister remains unconvinced. His Defence Minister Theo Franken warned ahead of the talks that lending Euroclear cash would be a big mistake.

Hungary is seen as the biggest opponent of the move and ahead of the summit, Prime Minister Orbán and his entourage even suggested that the frozen assets scheme be removed from the summit agenda. A European Commission official insisted this was not the case and that it would be a matter for the 27 member states to decide at the summit.

Slovakia’s Robert Fico has also opposed using Russian assets if it means the money is being used to buy weapons rather than for reconstruction needs.

When the deciding vote finally takes place, it will need a majority vote from at least the 15 member states that make up 65% of Europe’s population to pass. Whatever happens, European Council President António Costa has promised not to attack the Belgian people over their heads.

“We are not going to vote against Belgium,” he told Belgian public broadcaster RTBF. “We will continue to work very intensively with the Belgian government because we do not want to approve anything that is not acceptable to Belgium.”

Belgium may also be aware that ratings agency Fitch has placed Euroclear on negative watch, partly due to “low” legal risks to its balance sheet from the European Commission’s plans to use Russian assets. The chief executive of Euroclear has also warned against the scheme.

“There are still many hurdles and obstacles in the way. We have to find a way to respond to Belgium’s concerns,” the Finnish official said. “We are on the same side as Belgium. We will devise a solution to mitigate all risks to the greatest extent possible.

However, Belgium isn’t alone in its doubts, and a majority is not guaranteed.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told Italian lawmakers she would support the deal “if the legal basis is solid.”

“If this initiative did not have a solid legal basis, we would be handing Russia its first real victory since the beginning of this conflict.”

Reports also indicate that Malta, Bulgaria, and the Czech Republic oppose the controversial proposals.

If the deal goes through and Russian assets are turned over to Ukraine, the worst-case scenario for Belgium would be one in which the court would order it to hand the money back to Russia.

Some countries have said they are prepared to provide billions of euros of financial guarantees, but Belgium would like to see that number increased.

At any rate, Commission officials are confident that the only way for Russia to get it back would be to pay reparations to Ukraine – at which point Ukraine would hand its “compensation debt” back to the EU.