EU preparing €130bn loan for Ukraine from frozen Russian assets, says Reuters
The EU may provide Ukraine with a so-called reparations loan of up to €130 billion, but the final amount will be determined after the International Monetary Fund’s assessment of Ukraine’s needs in 2026-2027.
Source: Reuters, citing European officials
Details: The idea of a reparations loan, based on Russian assets frozen in the West after the 2022 invasion, was first put forward by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on 10 September.
The loan is intended to help Kyiv finance defence and would only need to be repaid once Russia pays reparations under a peace settlement. The risk would be guaranteed jointly by EU countries and possibly other G7 states.
Of the roughly €210 billion in Russian assets held in Europe, the majority is stored at the Belgian depository Euroclear. The officials note that €175 billion of these assets have already been converted into cash and could serve as the basis for the new loan.
Before launching the mechanism, the EU plans to repay the earlier G7 loan of €45 billion. After that, according to three people close to the discussions, around €130 billion could remain available for the new instrument.
Background:
- In July 2025, Ukraine received €1 billion from the EU, generated from the proceeds of frozen Russian assets under another G7 initiative, ERA.
- It was also reported that the EU intends to generate hundreds of billions more euros from frozen Russian assets by transferring them to an alternative investment fund, with nearly €200 billion of Russian state assets currently frozen in Belgium under discussion.
- In June, Ukraine also received €1 billion from the European Union covered by the profit from Russian assets.
- Earlier reports indicated that the European Union had suspended discussions on confiscating frozen Russian assets. Under EU law, Russian assets must remain immobilised until Russia ends its aggressive war against Ukraine and compensates for the damage it has caused.
- In 2024, the G7 agreed to jointly provide Ukraine with a US$50 billion loan backed by Russian assets: the funds were formally issued as a credit, but repayments would come from the proceeds of frozen Russian assets. The EU is expected to contribute €18.1 billion under this mechanism.
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