According to The Times, the UK government is considering a mechanism under which frozen Russian assets held on British territory could be redirected to support Ukraine. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper publicly endorsed the idea, stressing the need for coordinated action among allies to show Russia it “cannot simply wait out the situation and rely on economic dominance.” She noted that substantial financial resources for Ukraine could push Moscow toward negotiations.
However, the precise legal mechanism for unfreezing these assets in the United Kingdom and transferring them to Ukraine has yet to be determined. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Western countries froze around €260 billion in assets belonging to the Russian Central Bank, with the largest portion — approximately €193 billion — held by the Belgian securities depository Euroclear.
Debates within the EU over using these funds to support Ukraine have been ongoing for more than two years. Tensions escalated on 24 October when Belgium blocked an initiative to provide Ukraine with a €140 billion “reparations loan.” The loan was intended to be financed by proceeds generated from the frozen Russian assets, but Belgian authorities expressed concerns over significant financial and reputational risks and demanded firm guarantees that potential consequences — including Moscow’s response — would not fall solely on Belgium.
At the same time, France and several other countries are unwilling to offer national guarantees for such a loan, while the European Central Bank refused to provide Euroclear with emergency liquidity. The situation has been further strained by recent negotiations between the United States and Russia, from which European allies were effectively excluded.
Amid these divisions, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is set to travel to Brussels on 5 December for a meeting with Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, aiming to persuade him to support the reparations loan initiative for Ukraine.
