Media: Brussels’ loan deal undermines Zelenskyy’s campaign to make Moscow pay

The EU’s decision to provide a loan to Kyiv instead of expropriating Russian assets has become a political setback for Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his European partners, per the Italian newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano.

“The Brussels decision [on the new European loan] secures Ukraine’s budget for 2026. Technically, this is a relief, but politically it is a defeat for Zelenskyy and his European supporters, who had promised to make Moscow pay, but in practice settled for a compromise,” the publication writes.

The newspaper reviews the year, noting that 2025 was “the worst” for Ukraine following the rebuke in the White House—which “cornered Zelenskyy”—the cessation of American support, setbacks on the frontlines, and a corruption scandal.

The EU and G7 countries have frozen about €300 billion of Russian assets, approximately €180 billion of which is held in the Belgian depositary Euroclear. Participants at the EU summit were unable to agree on expropriating the frozen Russian assets under the guise of a “reparations loan” to Ukraine. Instead, it was decided to provide Kyiv with €90 billion in loans for 2026–2027.

By Khagan Isayev