Ukraine’s Zelensky tells Europe: Use frozen assets to end Russia’s appetite for war
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President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Ukraine’s partners to decide on using the nearly US$250 billion (S$320 billion) of frozen Russian sovereign assets in the EU to support a loan for Ukraine.
SCREENSHOT: X/@ZELENSKYYUA
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- Zelensky urges allies to support Ukraine, showing Russia that prolonging the war is futile.
- He calls for utilising nearly $250 billion in frozen Russian assets in the EU to support Ukraine.
- Putin stated Russia would seize more Ukrainian land if peace talks fail with Kyiv and Europe.
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KYIV – President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Ukraine’s allies on Dec 17 to secure support for Kyiv and show Russia that continuing its war is “pointless”, ahead of a crucial European Union summit on Moscow’s frozen assets.
“The outcome of these meetings – the outcome for Europe – must be such that Russia feels that its desire to continue fighting next year will be pointless, because Ukraine will have support,” he said in his evening address.
He called on Ukraine’s partners to decide on using the nearly US$250 billion (S$320 billion) of frozen Russian sovereign assets in the EU, most of it held in Belgium’s Euroclear, to support a loan for Ukraine.
EU governments agreed last week to freeze the assets
Some European leaders have opposed the plan, fearing that it opens them up to legal risk.
“We need all our partners to have the courage to see the truth, acknowledge the truth and act accordingly,” Mr Zelensky said.
He added that Russia was showing with its actions that it intended to continue fighting into 2026.
“Allies in the United States often say that Russia seems to want to end the war. But Russia is sending completely different rhetoric and signals, including official orders to its army.”
In Moscow on Dec 17, President Vladimir Putin said Russia would take more land in Ukraine by force if Kyiv and European politicians, whom he described as “young pigs”, did not engage over US proposals for a peace settlement. REUTERS
