US ‘Pressuring’ EU Not to Use Frozen Russian Assets for Kyiv: Senior Ukrainian Official

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to visit Brussels on Thursday to urge European partners to use frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine, despite pressure from Washington on EU countries to abandon the plan, a senior Ukrainian official told AFP.

The European Union has proposed using profits and assets frozen after Russia’s 2022 invasion to raise up to €90 billion ($105 billion) in loans for Ukraine’s defence, with the funds to be repaid through any future Russian reparations.

“The US administration is pressuring European countries to drop the idea of using Russian assets to support Ukraine,” the Ukrainian official said on Wednesday.

The proposal has strong backing from several EU member states, including Germany, but faces resistance from others — notably Belgium, which hosts Euroclear, the financial clearing house holding the bulk of the frozen assets. Belgian leaders have expressed concern about potential Russian retaliation and the broader implications for financial stability.

According to the Ukrainian official, seven countries currently oppose the plan.

Zelensky “is going to Brussels to motivate European countries to adopt this decision” and move ahead with tapping the frozen assets, the source said.

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever has come under scrutiny for his opposition, amid growing speculation that the administration of US President Donald Trump has also been weighing in. Washington reportedly views the frozen funds as a potential bargaining chip in peace talks with Moscow and has floated the possibility of returning some of the assets as an incentive.

A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that European governments were “quietly asking us to intervene on this matter because they do not want to be publicly opposed to it.”

“They are afraid of the long-term damage it could do to investment flows and to the credibility of their financial institutions,” the official said.

An earlier version of Trump’s peace plan for Ukraine included provisions for the US to use a portion of the frozen Russian assets for reconstruction of the war-ravaged country.

Roughly €200 billion in Russian central bank assets were frozen following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said both Ukraine and Russia had made their positions clear on the assets, adding: “Our role is to facilitate a back-and-forth that can ultimately result in a deal.”