🔗 Share this article Ukrainian President Urges European Union to Employ Seized Russia's Assets for Ukrainian Defence Support During ongoing conference negotiations, President Zelenskyy has insisted European Union representatives to implement plans utilizing frozen Russia's resources to finance Ukrainian defense operations "without delay". Urgent Action Needed Speaking to EU leaders in the EU capital on the summit day, Zelenskyy stressed the crucial necessity to fully utilize Russian funds for Ukraine's defense against continuing military action. "Whoever postpones this decision is not only restricting our military but also slowing down your own progress," he declared, promising that Ukraine would allocate considerable resources in buying European military equipment. EU Loan Proposal European Union leaders are currently considering initiatives to finance an interest-free loan for Ukraine backed by Russia's central bank funds, which were immobilized immediately after the full-scale invasion. EU commissioners has proposed a 140-billion-euro interest-free assistance, with likely directives to draft detailed legal texts aiming to conclude the plan by the end of the year. International Reactions Russian authorities has characterized the plan as "illegal seizure" and has vowed to pursue any entities or countries deemed to have taken Russia's funds. Belgium, which holds 183 billion euros at Euroclear, representing the majority of all Russia's government holdings within the European Union, has voiced concerns about the proposal. "When you want to implement this, we will have to proceed collectively," commented Bart De Wever, emphasizing the need for safeguards that all member states would share the expenses if Moscow tried to retrieve its assets. International Cooperation Roughly 33% of Russia's government holdings are held outside the EU, including in Japan (€28 billion), the United Kingdom (€27 billion), the North American country (€15 billion) and the America (€4 billion). Japan maintains considerable Russia's resources Britain holds significant Russia's financial assets Canada has considerable Russian resources America maintains reduced but significant resources Political Challenges Hungary, noted for its Moscow-aligned stance, has repeatedly delayed European Union restrictive measures and while it has never dared to veto them, its skeptical rhetoric raise questions about future endorsement. Hungarian Prime Minister skipped the Ukraine-related talks to be present at events in the Hungarian capital marking the national event. Latest Developments Previously, the EU endorsed its latest set of restrictive measures against the Russian Federation, targeting energy resources for the initial occasion. This decision came after parallel measures by the United States, which enacted measures on Russia's primary energy corporations, Rosneft and Lukoil. Confidence in Agreement Notwithstanding ongoing differences over the reparations assistance, several representatives demonstrated confidence in attaining an accord. "Today we will take the important decision to guarantee the economic necessities of Ukraine from the coming years," affirmed a prominent EU official, describing the outstanding tasks as "technicalities". The Latvian prime minister noted that an consensus on the loan would empower the Ukrainian president in any potential diplomatic talks. Peace Considerations Ukrainian leadership has minimized accounts of a 12-point ceasefire plan that emerged earlier, indicating it was the work of "supportive nations" seeking to counter "an initiative from Moscow". The Ukrainian president highlighted that Russia has demonstrated no sign of wanting to terminate the conflict, mentioning current bombings on non-military targets. "Increased sanctions on Russia and they will engage and discuss and I consider this is the approach," he concluded.