Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky urged EU leaders on Thursday, October 23rd, to agree to a mammoth new loan using Russian frozen assets, after U.S. President Donald Trump buoyed Kyiv by hitting Moscow with sanctions.
Trump ordered punitive measures against two Russian oil majors after scrapping a summit with Russia’s Vladimir Putin as his patience snapped with Moscow for stalling peace efforts.
The move drew ire from the Kremlin, which said it risked hurting diplomatic efforts to end the war. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin called the sanctions “unfriendly” but insisted they would not significantly hit the economy. He also called for more dialogue after Trump suspended plans for a U.S.-Russia summit.
But Zelensky called the measures “a strong and much-needed message that aggression will not go unanswered.”
Zelensky pressed EU counterparts at a summit to agree to a plan for a 140-billion-euro “reparations loan” funded by frozen Russian central bank assets.
EU leaders were locked in discussions on giving a preliminary green light to the proposal that is seen as vital for keeping Ukraine afloat for the next two years.
“Russia brought war to our land, and they have to pay for this war,” Zelensky said, saying Kyiv needed the money from the start of next year.
