The United States is warning European leaders that they will be forced to return Russia’s frozen €210 billion ($246 billion) if they move to seize the assets for Ukraine, The Times reported on Wednesday.
“The Europeans are going to have to give it back,” said a source close to US policy discussions.
Washington sees reclaiming the Russian funds as a crucial part of Trump’s proposed settlement plan for the war in Ukraine.
The warning lands hours before EU leaders convene in Brussels, where President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will personally ask them to convert frozen Russian central bank reserves into a loan for Kyiv.
Ukraine is forecast to run out of money in April, with the country needing at least €71.7 billion ($84 billion) in 2026.
Washington plays “divide and rule”
Over the past week, the Donald Trump administration has conducted a behind-the-scenes campaign to kill the EU plan even as Washington’s own funding cuts deepen Ukraine’s budget crisis.
The US opposes using the frozen assets as loan collateral, believing it will prolong the war by reducing Kyiv’s incentives to accept a truce. The original 28-point peace plan, leaked last month, proposed investing $100 billion of frozen Russian funds in US-led reconstruction efforts, with remaining assets placed in a joint US-Russian investment vehicle.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has offered “limited support” to Washington’s position, publicly declining to commit to asset seizure and demanding a “solid legal basis” for any move.
“The US is playing divide and rule,” an EU diplomat told The Times.
Other countries are quietly asking Washington to intervene on their behalf, a US official said, “as they do not want to be publicly against it.”
Summit showdown
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who flew to Brussels last week to rally support, put the odds of success at 50-50. Belgium, which holds €185 billion at Euroclear, remains the key obstacle.
Belgian PM says Kremlin threatened him personally over frozen assets for Ukraine. Moscow’s pressure is clearly paying off
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Leaders may use emergency “qualified majority” voting to override Belgium’s objections, or settle for a compromise that declares intent to seize assets while pushing final financial arrangements into the new year.
Russia has threatened “eternal retaliation” if the EU proceeds.
US and Russian officials, including Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, son-in-law Jared Kushner, and the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, are expected to meet in Miami this weekend, Politico reports.
