December 18, 2025 | 02:44 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Volodymyr Zelensky will be in Brussels on Thursday, December 18, 2025, to convince his European partners to use frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine, despite pressure from the United States to not proceed with the plan, as reported by a Ukrainian official to France24.
"Zelensky is going to Brussels to motivate European countries to adopt this decision and tap the frozen assets," the source said.
The European Union has outlined a plan to use the frozen assets to secure 90 billion euros as a loan to help Ukraine repel Moscow's forces. The money is intended to be repaid by Russia through compensation to Ukraine at a later date.
"The U.S. administration is pressuring European countries to abandon the idea of using Russian assets to support Ukraine," said a senior Ukrainian official on Wednesday, as reported by Al Arabiya.
7 Countries Oppose
The plan has received strong support from many member states, including Germany.
However, it faces opposition from 7 other countries, including Belgium, where the international securities depository organization Euroclear is based. Belgian leaders are concerned about Moscow's potential retaliation because this country holds a large portion of Russian assets.
The Ukrainian official stated that, thus far, seven countries are opposed to the plan.
According to a report by TASS, initially, Belgium, Hungary, and Slovakia opposed the plan. Now, Italy, Bulgaria, Malta, and the Czech Republic have joined them.
Euractiv noted that the latter four countries oppose the plan due to their governments' support for U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, which believes that seizing Russian assets could hinder prospects for a quick resolution in Ukraine.
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever has been scrutinized for opposing the use of Russian assets for Ukraine. However, there are speculations that the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is also involved in the debate.
Washington seems to view these assets as a major bargaining chip. They have offered Moscow the prospect of regaining some cash in exchange for cooperation.
An earlier version of Trump's plan to end the war also involved the use of frozen Russian assets by Washington for the reconstruction of the war-torn country. This reconstruction is intended to be led by the U.S.
Around 200 billion euros of Russian central bank assets were frozen in connection with Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly said, "Both Ukraine and Russia have clearly stated their positions on the frozen assets, and our role is merely to facilitate negotiations that can ultimately lead to an agreement."
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