European Union leaders agreed not to usage frozen Russian assets to assistance money Ukraine’s defence successful the ongoing war with Russia aboriginal connected Friday.
Instead, 90 cardinal euros ($106bn) volition travel from an interest-free indebtedness provided by 23 retired of the 27 EU subordinate states. Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic were granted an exemption successful bid to let the woody to walk pursuing months of statement and knife-edge discussions connected Thursday night.
It is estimated that Ukraine volition necessitate an other 136bn euros ($159bn) implicit the adjacent 2 years, if it is to debar bankruptcy arsenic soon arsenic April, starring the European Commission to enactment distant a program to pat into immoderate of the frozen Russian cardinal slope assets held by the bloc.
But Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever had refused to motion disconnected connected this without “ironclad guarantees” that Belgium, wherever astir of the Russian assets are held, would beryllium protected from imaginable Russian ineligible retaliation.
Belgium estimated it could beryllium near owing billions of euros if Moscow successfully sued Euroclear – a Financial Market Infrastructure (FMI) supplier successful the Eurozone – wherever the funds are held.
Hungary and Slovakia had besides expressed beardown absorption to the plan, with Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban labelling the program a “dead end”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that utilizing frozen assets to concern Ukraine would beryllium akin to theft.
A presumption of the office of Euroclear successful Brussels, Belgium, connected October 23, 2025 [Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP Photo]How would the program to usage Russian assets person worked?
Under the plan, the EU would person borrowed from Euroclear – the Belgian-based clearing location holding much than 40 trillion euros ($47 trillion) of assets – to supply Ukraine with an archetypal 90-billion-euro ($106bn) loan. This equates to astir two-thirds of Ukraine’s backing requirements until 2027.
The indebtedness would lone person needed to beryllium repaid to the EU if Russia agreed to wage reparations for the warfare to Ukraine. Losses from the warfare are estimated astatine astir $524bn successful reconstruction costs, according to the European Parliament.
Which countries clasp frozen Russian assets?
More than 289.5 cardinal euros ($339.3bn) successful Russian assets person been frozen by Western countries since the 2022 penetration of Ukraine, with the EU holding 209 cardinal euros ($247bn) of this. Belgium holds the largest stock astatine 180 cardinal euros ($210bn).
- Belgium holds 180 cardinal euros ($210bn)
- Japan holds 28 cardinal euros ($32.8bn)
- The UK holds 27 cardinal euros ($31.6bn)
- France holds 19 cardinal euros ($22.3bn)
- Canada holds 15.1 cardinal euros ($17.7bn)
- Luxembourg holds 10 cardinal euros ($11.7bn)
- Switzerland holds 6.2 cardinal euros ($7.3bn)
- The United States holds 4.3 cardinal euros ($5bn)
Which EU members opposed the program to usage Russian assets?
Besides Belgium, a fig of EU members opposed the plan, with Belgium raising concerns that utilizing the frozen assets without beardown EU guarantees is “fundamentally wrong”.
It warned that Moscow could retaliate by targeting Belgian spot successful Russia, portion Russia-friendly countries could besides lodge ineligible claims against Euroclear.
Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban described the connection arsenic “stupid”, saying that tapping into Russian assets risked further escalating the struggle successful Ukraine.
He told reporters: “There are 2 countries which are astatine warfare – it’s not European Union, [it’s] Russia and Ukraine – and the European Union would similar to instrumentality distant the wealth of 1 of the warring enactment and past to springiness it to different one.
“It’s marching into the war. The Belgian premier curate is right, we should not bash that,” helium said.
Which countries person assets frozen by Europe?
While Russia is the astir salient non-European state with important assets frozen successful Europe, respective different nations extracurricular Europe are besides taxable to plus freezes nether the EU sanctions regimes.
While Russia’s concern is unsocial due to the fact that the EU has frozen its Sovereign Central Bank reserves, astir different countries connected this database chiefly person assets belonging to authorities officials, oligarchs oregon circumstantial state-owned companies frozen, alternatively than their full nationalist reserves.
According to the European Commission’s authorisation tracker, the EU has imposed plus freezes and a prohibition connected making funds disposable successful astatine slightest 31 countries. Many of the moves are mandated by the United Nations, and past implemented by the EU, portion different plus freezes travel straight arsenic a effect of EU decisions, including those connected Venezuela.
Explore the array beneath to find retired which different countries person had assets frozen by the EU.
In 2017, the EU froze assets of Venezuelan entities and individuals successful effect to the breakdown of antiauthoritarian regularisation and quality rights abuses successful the state nether President Nicolas Maduro. It specifically targeted individuals committing superior violations, and the European Council lone precocious extended these measures until January 2027.
In 2013, the European Council decided to spot Syria nether restrictive measures, including plus freezes and fiscal restrictions. These see subordinate states being prohibited from entering into caller commitments for grants, fiscal assistance oregon concessional loans to the Government of Syria.
These measures were enactment successful spot successful protestation against quality rights violations committed nether Bashar al-Assad’s regime, which was yet toppled successful December past year. In 2014, the measures were expanded to see immoderate individuals oregon entities which supported the authorities and chemic weapons production.
After the overthrow of the authorities successful December 2024, the EU suspended immoderate of these measures to assistance enactment the governmental modulation successful Syria, but has maintained freezes connected the Assad authorities and the drugs trade.
Which countries person the UK and US imposed plus freezes on?
According to the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), which tracks fiscal sanctions, the United Kingdom has frozen the UK-based assets of individuals and entities from 22 countries, with astir being the aforesaid states sanctioned by the EU.
The United States typically freezes assets via the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List. According to the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which catalogues antithetic levels of sanctions, the US has astir afloat frozen the assets of the governments of 4 countries, including Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Russia. In June this year, US President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order removing US sanctions connected Syria.
The US has besides placed country-specific sanctions connected dozens of different nations.

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