Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to visit Brussels on Thursday to press European Union leaders to approve a plan to use frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine, a Ukrainian official told AFP.
The official said the United States is urging European allies to abandon the proposal, which seeks to raise €90 billion ($105 billion) for Kyiv through a loan backed by Russian assets frozen since the February 2022 invasion. Under the plan, the money would be repaid by any war reparations Russia might eventually pay to Ukraine.
“The US administration is pressuring European countries to abandon the idea of using Russian assets to support Ukraine,” the official said Wednesday.
The proposal has the backing of several EU member states, including Germany, but faces resistance from others, including Belgium. Euroclear, a Brussels-based international deposit organization, holds a significant portion of the frozen assets, prompting concerns among Belgian officials about possible Russian retaliation.
According to the Ukrainian official, seven EU countries currently oppose the plan.
“Zelensky is going to Brussels to motivate European countries to adopt this decision” and unlock the assets, the official said.
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever has faced scrutiny over his opposition to using the assets. There has also been speculation that President Donald Trump’s administration has weighed in on the matter.
A U.S. official, speaking anonymously, said some European allies had “quietly” requested American intervention, citing concerns about the potential impact on investor confidence and institutional credibility.
“They are afraid of the long-term damage it will do to long-term investments in their system and the credibility of their institutions,” the official said.
A previous version of Trump’s proposal for ending the war included using some of the frozen Russian funds for a U.S.-led reconstruction effort in Ukraine.
Roughly €200 billion in Russian central bank assets remain frozen in Western financial institutions.
White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly said, “Both the Ukrainians and the Russians have clearly stated positions regarding the frozen assets, and our only role is to facilitate a back-and-forth that can ultimately result in a deal.”
A protest in support of using the assets to aid Ukraine took place outside the European Commission in Brussels on December 17, 2025.
