Czech PM calls for post-war use of frozen Russian assets

New Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš stated that frozen Russian assets should be used only after the Russia-Ukraine war concludes.

The European Union summit decided on joint borrowing for Ukraine amounting to €90 billion, Caliber.Az reports, citing Radio Prague International.

Babiš emphasised that the Czech Republic will not be responsible for this loan. He noted that some countries insisted on using frozen Russian assets immediately.

“I believe these funds should be taken after the war ends. I’m already surprised that today we’re allocating money for the next two years, when it was announced that a peace agreement is approaching; somehow it doesn’t add up for me," the prime minister said.

He also added that, in his view, many EU leaders did not fully understand the terms of the “reparations loan” discussed during late-night negotiations.

EU leaders meeting in Brussels agreed to provide Ukraine a €90 billion loan for 2026–27, financed by joint borrowing through the bloc’s budget after extensive negotiations. Ukraine will only repay if Russia pays war reparations, and the EU retains the right to use frozen Russian assets later under EU law.

The summit failed to reach a consensus on using about €210 billion of frozen Russian central bank assets as collateral or direct funding, largely due to legal, financial and political objections — especially from Belgium, where most of the assets are held.

As a result, leaders chose joint debt backed by the EU budget rather than tapping Russian funds now, and exempted some countries (including Czechia, Hungary and Slovakia) from taking part in the financing obligations.

By Jeyhun Aghazada