BRUSSELS: Leaders from seven EU member states urged the EU on Monday to move ahead quickly with a proposal to use frozen Russian assets to provide financing to Ukraine. "Supporting Ukraine in their fight for freedom and independence is not only a moral obligation - it is also in our own self-interest," the leaders from Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden said in a letter to EU Council President Antonio Costa and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. "We must therefore move ahead quickly on the Commission's proposals to use the cash balances from Russia's immobilised assets for a reparations loan to Ukraine."
Legal concerns by Belgium have delayed a decision on the European Commission's proposal for an unprecedented use of frozen Russian assets or international borrowing to raise 90 billion euros ($105 billion) for Ukraine. "Discussions will continue up until the European Council next week, where the aim is to have a final decision," Commission spokesperson Paula Pinho said on Monday. Pinho declined to give details about a meeting European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever had on Friday to discuss the concerns.
She repeated the Commission's stance that the proposals are in line with international law and address the concerns raised about the use of immobilised assets. "Whenever we put our legal proposal on the table, we are sure that it is court-proof and it meets the requirements and concerns, including in this case financial markets," she told reporters in Brussels. "So we are reassuring on that front, because obviously these issues have been looked into."
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday matters for Ukraine should be decided by Ukraine as he met President Volodymyr Zelensky with French and German leaders in London on Monday. The meeting was aimed at rallying allies for support as the United States increases pressure on Kyiv to agree to a proposed peace deal with Russia. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni spoke by phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy ahead of his planned visits to London, Brussels and Rome for talks on the peace process, her office said. Meloni reaffirmed Italy's solidarity after what she called a fresh wave of "indiscriminate" Russian strikes on civilian targets and announced the dispatch of emergency supplies to support Ukraine's energy infrastructure and population.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said negotiators remain split over territorial concessions in a US-brokered peace plan, Bloomberg News reported on Monday, citing a phone interview with Zelensky. Elements of the US proposal require further discussion on "sensitive issues," including security guarantees for Ukraine and control of its eastern territories, according to the report.
"There are visions of the US, Russia and Ukraine - and we don't have a unified view on Donbas," Zelensky told Bloomberg News early Monday. He added that Kyiv is seeking a separate pact on security guarantees from Western allies, particularly the US, the report said. US officials said they are close to finalising the agreement, though neither Ukraine nor Russia has shown willingness to sign the deal drafted by Trump's team.
Separately, at least seven people were injured when Russian drones struck an apartment block in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Okhtyrka in the Sumy region, Governor Oleh Hryhorov said on Monday. The Sumy region, which borders Russia, has faced near-daily shelling and drone attacks since Moscow launched its full-scale attack of Ukraine in February 2022, a war now nearing its fourth year.
Hryhorov said in a post on the Telegram messaging app that those injured had been taken to hospital, where two of them were admitted. The others received treatment and were discharged. The multi-storey building sustained extensive damage, Hryhorov said, adding that some residents managed to reach the basement after air-raid warnings while emergency crews rescued others from upper floors. There was no immediate comment from Moscow about the attack. Both sides deny targeting civilians, but thousands have died in the conflict, the vast majority of them Ukrainian. — Reuters
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