EU Proposes New Plan to Use Russian Assets to Fund Ukraine

The European Union proposed two options to refill Ukraine’s war-strained budget, suggesting either a loan backed by frozen Russian assets or one backed by the bloc’s own finances.

The legislative proposals came just hours after Belgium preemptively rejected the Russian assets plan, which would use Russia’s immobilized central bank funds to cover €90 billion ($105 billion) of Ukraine’s financial needs. Belgium, which houses most of the Russian assets, said it remains worried the country could be forced to repay the massive loan on its own.