Ukraine's finance minister urges EU to use frozen Russian assets to close projected $78 billion gap for 2027
Ukraine's Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko, speaking in Brussels, called on the European Union to use roughly €210 billion in frozen Russian Central Bank assets to cover Ukraine's projected $78 billion financing gap for 2027. He acknowledged the already-agreed €90 billion EU loan but said it is not enough, as Belgium, Italy and France remain skeptical about expanding the use of Russian sovereign funds.
Key points
- Ukraine projects a cumulative financing gap of about $78 billion (€68.77 billion) for 2027 if allies do not increase contributions.
- External financing requirement for 2027 is $52.6 billion, with roughly $20 billion currently guaranteed, leaving an uncovered gap of $32.6 billion.
- An additional approximately $45 billion in defense expenditures lacks guaranteed partner financing.
- The EU holds around €210 billion in frozen Russian Central Bank assets, most of them at Belgium's Euroclear depository.
- Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko presented the calculations in Brussels and called for a centralized EU mechanism with proper legal grounding.
- EU member states are divided: Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain, Poland and the Baltic states back a new approach, while Belgium, Italy and France are skeptical or opposed.
- Disbursement of the agreed €90 billion loan has been slowed by the pace of reforms in the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament.
Why it matters
Ukraine's appeal strikes at the heart of how the war will be financed in its most difficult budget year since the full-scale invasion began. With roughly €210 billion in frozen Russian assets sitting in the EU and a projected $78 billion gap, the question of whether to tap those funds goes beyond Ukraine's balance sheet: it tests European political will to sustain support and to make Russia pay for the damage caused.
What happened
Speaking at meetings with international donors and financial institutions in Brussels, Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko laid out a financing gap of about $78 billion for 2027 if partners do not step up. He broke the gap into a $52.6 billion external financing requirement, of which roughly $20 billion is guaranteed, leaving $32.6 billion uncovered, plus an additional $45 billion in defense spending without guaranteed partner funding. Marchenko urged the EU to use approximately €210 billion in frozen Russian Central Bank assets, most of them held at Belgium's Euroclear, and to set up a centralized mechanism with proper legal justification. He called the use of Russian assets a practical and fair way to fund Ukraine's wartime expenses and ensure Russian accountability. Marchenko also acknowledged the €90 billion loan EU leaders agreed as an alternative, split between 2026 and 2027, saying Ukraine is "very satisfied" with it but that it is not enough. European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos, at a donor conference, stressed that Ukraine must implement agreed reforms to keep receiving financial support, and officials said disbursement of the €90 billion has been slowed by the pace of reforms in the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian coverage centers Marchenko's appeal and his framing of frozen Russian assets as a practical, fair and politically urgent instrument. It treats the €90 billion EU loan as welcome but insufficient, emphasizes the projected $78 billion gap and 2027 as the hardest budget year since the start of the full-scale invasion, and highlights Ukraine's reform efforts and ongoing consultations with the EU and IMF. Ukrainian sources underscore the need for what Marchenko called "brave" and "bold" European action.
How international sources describe it
International coverage highlights a divided EU. Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain and Poland, supported by the Baltic states, have warned that the €90 billion loan is insufficient and have called for fresh approaches to Russian assets. Belgium, which was the main opponent of last year's interest-free credit-line proposal and led a blocking majority at a December EU summit, immediately pushed back, and diplomats say Italy and France, whose positions could be decisive, are also currently skeptical. The European Commission is focused on disbursing the already-agreed €90 billion and is wary of another failed push.
Where reporting differs
Sources diverge on the 2026/2027 split of the €90 billion loan: one fact in the underlying reporting describes €45 billion allocated to each year, while another erroneously lists €45 million per year. They also disagree on whether EU member states back expanding the use of Russian assets, with a clear split between supporters (Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain, Poland, the Baltic states) and skeptics or opponents (Belgium, Italy, France). There is also tension between Ukraine's call for additional financing and the European Commission's insistence that the priority is disbursing the already-agreed €90 billion loan tied to reforms in the Verkhovna Rada.
Background
Russian Central Bank assets were frozen after February 2022 and have since generated roughly €8 billion in extraordinary profits for the EU, including €1.4 billion reported by the European Commission in August. After the European Commission's attempt to use the frozen assets as backing for an interest-free credit line for Ukraine failed at an EU summit in December, with Belgium leading the opposition, EU leaders agreed instead on a €90 billion loan secured by joint debt, split between 2026 and 2027. Disbursement of that loan has been slowed by the pace of reforms in the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, and European officials have publicly pressed Kyiv to deliver on reforms before further support. In September, 123 MEPs called on the EU Council and European Commission to resume discussions on using more than €200 billion in frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine.