Ukraine's Zelensky warns of dire battlefield if Europe doesn’t tap Russian assets
EU leaders are struggling to approve a $105 billion loan to keep Kyiv fighting.
BRUSSELS—Ukraine will be both forced to slash drone production and undermined in negotiations with Washington if European Union leaders fail to back a $105 billion loan to keep Kyiv fighting against Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
The EU says Ukraine will run out of cash in the spring. Ukraine’s troops face intense pressure from Russian forces on the battlefield, and Zelensky is locked in difficult negotiations with Washington on ending the war.
Zelensky told a press conference that Ukraine would have to “significantly decrease" its drone production in spring and warned that its long-range strike capability against Russia “would disappear." He spoke as EU leaders nearby debated the loan.
The loan proposal has faced strong opposition from Belgium, which faces most of the risk. That is because it is home to Euroclear, the institution holding around $213 billion in Russian assets when they were frozen.
Belgium fears it will be left to pick up the tab if Russia successfully challenges the reparations loan in court. Prime Minister Bart de Wever has said several times that Russia has made threats of retaliation against the country and against him personally if he approves the move.
Zelensky met with de Wever on Thursday to prod him to support the loan.
Cutting drone production could cripple Ukrainian forces, which have used them to hold off Russian advances as Kyiv struggles to raise manpower. Ukraine has also been able to launch frequent strikes against Russian energy facilities and other locations supporting its war effort.
The EU loan would make Ukraine “more confident at the negotiating table," Zelensky said, giving it greater leverage to show that it can continue the fight if the U.S.-led peace talks produce a deal that favors Russia.
Kyiv faces intense pressure from the Trump administration to agree to withdraw from a heavily fortified slice of its eastern Donbas region that Ukrainian troops still hold.
After weeks of negotiations, EU leaders met Thursday morning to decide on the so-called reparations loan.
The funding would use Russian central bank assets that have been frozen under sanctions to provide Ukraine with two-thirds of their budget and military needs over the next two years, according to International Monetary Fund estimations. Kyiv wouldn’t need to repay the cash unless Moscow gives it reparations for war damages.
Russia has threatened to hit back against the use of its central bank assets, half of which—around $300 billion—were frozen in the first days after its invasion of Ukraine.
European leaders said Thursday that the decision hangs in the balance, and the EU’s top officials have said they could keep leaders at the summit for several days if necessary to force a decision.
Since the Trump administration has withdrawn funding from Kyiv this year, the EU has pledged to show that the Kremlin cannot outlast Western support for Ukraine, by stepping in to fill the funding gap.
Speaking to the Belgian parliament Thursday, de Wever said he was open to compromise if Belgium receives tight, binding commitments to ensure that it won’t be left on the hook.
“You need a parachute before jumping," he said. “If we are asked to jump, we all jump together."
Write to Laurence Norman at laurence.norman@wsj.com
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