UK to 'share EU risk' by leveraging capital from frozen Russian assets

Britain is prepared to share the risks with European allies of using frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine, Downing Street indicated on Thursday.

The development comes after Belgium said it would only back a loan for Ukraine if it receives assurances it will be shielded from Russian retaliation.

At a crunch summit in Brussels, European leaders are discussing whether to use the Russian money to underwrite a loan to fund Kyiv’s military and economic needs.

The EU sees Russia’s war as a threat to its own security and wants to keep Ukraine financed and fighting. 

The leaders are also keen to show European countries’ strength and resolve after US President Donald Trump this month called them ‘weak’.

Polish prime minister Donald Tusk said on Thursday: ‘Now we have a simple choice – either money today or blood tomorrow.

‘And I am not talking about Ukraine only, I am talking about Europe. All European leaders have to finally rise to this occasion.’

Most of the £185billion of Russian assets are held in the Euroclear bank based in Belgium, whose prime minister Bart De Wever has so far resisted using them to finance Kyiv. He has called on other European nations to share the risk. 

Sir Keir Starmer’s official spokesman was repeatedly asked if the Government was willing to accept Belgium’s requests to share the burden.

He told reporters: ‘I think it’s evident within the Government’s actions that what we want to see is those immobilised assets used to support Ukraine.

'We believe that delivering these funds sends a very clear signal to Putin that he cannot outlast the support of the UK and our allies. That is what we remain focused on.’

Earlier, Mr De Wever told Belgium’s parliament: ‘Give me a parachute and we’ll all jump together. If we have confidence in the parachute that shouldn’t be a problem.’

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that he had told European leaders at the summit that his country needed a decision quickly on the frozen Russian assets to plug Ukraine’s budget gap.

‘Our partners have been informed that the decision must be made by the end of this year,’ he added.

He warned that, without the loan, Ukraine would have far fewer drones than Russia and would not be able to conduct its long-range strikes on Moscow’s energy facilities.

It came as a Kremlin envoy will travel to Florida to discuss the US-proposed plan to end the war. 

Kirill Dmitriev, who heads Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, will meet Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner in Miami tomorrow.