EU vows to bankroll Ukraine for next two years

The European Union will agree in principle to provide Ukraine with the financing it needs for the next two years, EU Council chief Antonio Costa said.

Arriving at a summit of EU leaders in Brussels, Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever laid out three demands for the use of Russian immobilised assets to provide a 140 billion euro ($163.27 billion) loan to Ukraine.

"If demands are met, we can go forward. If not I will do everything in my power at the European level, also at the national level, politically and legally to stop this decision," said De Wever.

BELGIUM DEMANDS SHARING OF RISK

De Wever called on all EU members to share the risks associated with the plan, meaning they would share the costs of any legal action pursued by Russia and contribute financially if the money ever had to be paid back.

He also said Russian frozen assets held by other countries should be part of the scheme.

"There must be transparency about the risk. There must be transparency about the legal basis for this decision," he said.

But Costa, arriving at the summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, made clear the EU would ensure Kyiv's financial needs were covered for the next two years, with technical details to be decided later.

"We will take the political decision to ensure the financial needs of Ukraine for 2026 and 2027, including for the acquisition of military equipment," said Costa, who chairs summits of EU leaders.

The leaders are expected to task the European Commission to come up with a formal legal proposal on the frozen assets plan.

SANCTIONS PACKAGE FORMALLY APPROVED

At the summit, leaders of the European Union will also reiterate backing for Ukraine's territorial integrity.

Ukraine's leader also received a boost in the form of a new package of EU sanctions against Russia which the bloc formally approved on Thursday.

The package includes a ban on Russian liquefied natural gas from January 2027, as well as new measures on the so-called shadow tanker fleet and two independent Chinese oil refineries.

The planned summit was later put on hold and on Wednesday, the U.S. hit Russia's major oil companies with sanctions.

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