Four EU states push to revive frozen Russian assets plan as Ukraine faces €27bn defence shortfall

A coalition of four EU member states — Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain and Poland — is pressing the European Commission to resume work on a mechanism that would channel over €200 billion in frozen Russian central bank assets to Ukraine, the Financial Times has reported. The move comes as Ukraine warns it faces a €27 billion defence budget shortfall in 2026 and as European leaders seek to shore up long-term support beyond the €90 billion loan already agreed.

The letter, expected to be sent to Brussels on Thursday 27 August, calls for an update on alternative legal and technical mechanisms that could circumvent Belgium’s veto, which blocked the initiative last winter. Belgian officials have cited fears of legal retaliation from Moscow and warned of risks to the euro’s stability. Source: FT via Ukrainska Pravda

Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard told the FT: “Now is the time to start a new discussion about how we can make further use of Russia's frozen assets for Ukraine's, and our, benefit.” She added that the €90 billion loan “is clearly not enough.” Source: FT via Ukrainska Pravda

The push for additional funding overlaps with a stark warning from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who told a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing in Kyiv on 24 August that Ukraine faces a €27 billion defence budget gap next year. Zelenskyy suggested that one option to cover the shortfall would be to bring forward part of the EU’s €90 billion loan, currently scheduled for 2027. But the European Commission said on 25 August that Kyiv has not yet formally requested early disbursement. Source: Ukrainska Pravda

The EU is already approving payments under the €90 billion loan at “very, very high speed,” according to Commission chief spokesperson Paula Pinho, but she stressed that no official request for front-loading has been received. Source: Ukrainska Pravda

Meanwhile, other diplomatic and military signals are emerging. CIA Director John Ratcliffe has made an unannounced visit to Moscow, according to CBS News sources, after a US Air Force transport aircraft and a diplomatic motorcade were spotted at a Moscow airport. The last such visit by a CIA director was in November 2021, when William Burns warned the Kremlin about preparations for a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Source: Ukrainska Pravda

On the military support front, the NATO Military Committee will meet at the chiefs of defence level in Copenhagen on 18-19 September to discuss follow-up measures from the Ankara summit, including the alliance’s commitment to provide Ukraine with at least €140 billion in military support over 2026-2027. Source: Ukrainska Pravda

Pro-Russian hackers have also added a new dimension of pressure. The group Server Killers claimed responsibility for cyberattacks on Norway, linking them to Oslo’s strategic partnership agreement with Ukraine and its pledge of continued financial support for 2027. Norwegian government services have faced disruptions for three consecutive days. Source: Ukrainska Pravda

On a symbolic note, the Czech capital Prague marked Ukraine’s Independence Day by ringing a “Freedom Bell” cast from bronze and Russian weapons — including a 7 kg artillery shell and fragments of an S-300 missile. The bell, weighing 220 kg, was installed with Dutch involvement and bears an inscription in Ukrainian, Czech, and Dutch: “Stand firm in freedom and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” Source: Ukrainska Pravda

At the United Nations, Ukraine’s Permanent Representative Andrii Melnyk told the Security Council that Russia is losing the war, pointing to a record budget deficit, a 40% drop in oil and gas revenues, and the dismissal of a senior economist who warned Moscow cannot win a prolonged economic war. Source: Ukrainska Pravda

Finnish President Alexander Stubb, in Kyiv for Independence Day, told Ukrainska Pravda in an interview that Ukraine’s military situation has improved markedly over the past nine months, but cautioned that the coming winter will be harsh. Stubb, who has close ties with the Trump administration, has emerged as a natural intermediary in discussions with Washington on ending the war. Source: Ukrainska Pravda

The push for frozen assets, the CIA visit, the NATO meeting, and the cyberattacks all point to a defining period for European strategy: the question is not whether Europe will continue to back Ukraine, but whether it can do so at the scale and speed Kyiv needs.