Brussels, Dec 15 The European Union's discussions on financing future support for Ukraine, including a plan to leverage frozen Russian state assets, have become "increasingly difficult," an EU official said on Monday.
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas made the remarks ahead of the EU's Foreign Affairs Council session in Brussels, noting that EU leaders are due to meet on Thursday and Friday for the last summit of the year.
The bloc is working toward a decision on Ukraine's funding at the gathering. "We will not leave the meeting before we get a result," she said, Xinhua News Agency reported.
Several financing options remain on the table, but the "most credible option" is a so-called "reparations loan" backed by frozen Russian assets, Kallas added.
The financing push comes as the EU seeks to stabilise support for Ukraine into 2026 and 2027.
Western countries have frozen roughly 300 billion US dollars in Russian sovereign assets since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in February 2022. The European Union has immobilized about 210 billion euros (about 246.4 billion dollars) of Russian central bank assets, most of it held at Belgium-based Euroclear in Brussels.
Earlier this month, EU governments agreed to indefinitely immobilize those Russian central bank assets, a shift from the previous system of rolling renewals every six months, to reduce the risk that a single member state could block the measure.
Belgium, which holds the bulk of the immobilized assets, has raised legal and financial liability concerns about the "reparations loan." Those concerns have complicated previous efforts to reach a deal on the proposed loan.
Meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Ministry has criticised the European Union over its intention to use the country's assets, calling it an "illegitimate institution and a gang that legitimises utterly criminal ideas," the local media reported.
Speaking to reporters on December 5, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova called EU a "criminal group" and raised questions over their plan, which she stressed has no legal basis. Her remarks came after the European Commission announced its plan to seize Russian assets in Europe worth €210 billion under "reparations loan" scheme to support Ukraine's financial needs and urged non-EU Western nations to become part of this initiative, Russian state-run news agency TASS reported.
She said, "The European Union has become not just an illegitimate institution, but, better yet, a gang that legitimizes utterly criminal ideas and decisions. I believe this is unprecedented. How else are they discussing this publicly? Trying to find something to tie it to? And knowing there's no legal basis for it, they're no longer creating coalitions, but rather criminal groups."
The spokesperson warned that Russia will take "harsh retaliatory measures" if EU takes such a step and stressed that this would not only be a verbal response but also practical actions.
Zakharova said, "If these actions are committed — namely, let's put it plainly, theft — if there are attempts at banditry and the seizure of Russian assets, then yes, I can confirm that retaliatory measures are indeed being developed interdepartmentally."
"This will not be a verbal response, not just notes of protest. It will involve both statements and practical actions. They understand this perfectly well, which is why they're squirming like snakes in a frying pan," she added.
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