European governments rush to reach agreement on frozen use Russian assets. This is reported by Financial Times.

It is noted that the work intensified after negotiations between Ukraine and the United States, which took place on Friday, October 17. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy came under pressure in Washington from US President Donald Trump to agree to Vladimir Putin's demands to end the war.

"We see President Trump's efforts to bring peace to Ukraine, and all these efforts are welcome, but we don't see that Russia is seeking peace. We are discussing what else we can do," explained the EU's chief diplomat, Kaia Kallas.

The publication recalls that during Friday's meeting, Trump warned Zelensky that Putin had threatened to"destroy" Ukraine if it did not comply. The US president insisted that when he meets with the Russian dictator in Budapest, a peace agreement will be reached.

On Thursday, October 23, a summit of European leaders is to be held in Brussels. It is possible that the President of Ukraine will also join them. As the authors note, politicians will try to agree on the use of frozen Russian assets to provide Ukraine with a loan of 140 billion euros, which, at the suggestion of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, should be used exclusively for arming Kyiv.

On October 20 in Luxembourg, EU foreign ministers expressed support for Ukraine. They said the bloc should agree to the use of Russian assets and new sanctions against Russia. Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel said the following:

"The EU should provide Ukraine with a strong starting position by providing military assistance and considering the use of financial assets to provide it with some financial relief so that it has the best cards in its hands."

EU officials are confident that at the upcoming summit, the European Commission will get the green light to submit a proposal to provide a loan in tranches that will be used to purchase weapons for Ukraine's needs. According to French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, this funding"will allow Ukraine to defend itself for at least three years."

Notably, pro-Russian Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban will not be present at the start of the summit. The publication writes that this will allow the other 26 leaders to potentially reach an agreement without him.

Western leaders of the"coalition of the willing" will also have a phone conversation with Zelensky on Friday regarding additional military support.

Using frozen assets of the Russian Federation: obstacles

The vast majority of Russia's frozen assets are stored in Belgium, in the Euroclear central depository. And the country does not plan to agree to their use unless it receives guarantees that if Moscow's legal challenges are successful, the costs will be covered by other EU member states.

It is clear that the Kremlin is also opposed to this idea. They call such a scenario"an illegal seizure of Russian property - or, to put it simply, theft."

New sanctions against Russia

The European Union is unable to reach an agreement on the next round of sanctions against Russia. This round includes a ban on the purchase of liquefied Russian gas starting in January.

Slovakia is against it, wanting additional concessions. It is noted that EU countries have agreed to completely stop the supply of Russian gas to Europe by 2028 (with the exception of Slovakia and Hungary).

Military support for Ukraine has decreased

The NZZ newspaper writes that Western military and financial aid to Ukraine has decreased noticeably. The publication explains that the US has not provided new weapons since the inauguration of Donald Trump.

Europe has tried to replace this aid, but some weapons it simply does not produce. It is noted that in the summer, Europe's commitments fell by 57% compared to the first half of 2025, from an average of 3.8 to 1.9 billion euros per month.

Overall, monthly military aid from all donor countries was approximately 40% lower than the level of the first half of the year.