EU talks stall on massive loan to Ukraine using frozen Russian assets

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders stalled early Friday in talks to provide a massive loan to Ukraine using frozen Russian assets, officials said, as Belgium sought ironclad guarantees from its partners that they would protect the country from any retaliation by Russia.

The leaders want to use the Russian assets for a “reparation loan” to fund Ukraine's military and economic needs for the next two years. Kyiv would only pay back the money once Russia ends the war, now in its fourth year, and pays hundreds of billions for the destruction it has caused.

But the bulk of the assets — some 193 billion euros ($226 billion) as of September — are held in the Brussels-based financial clearing house Euroclear and Belgium wants to protect its interests. Russia’s Central Bank has launched a lawsuit against Euroclear and Belgium has doubts that the loan is legally sturdy.

“After lengthy discussions, it is clear that the reparations loans will require more work as leaders need more time to go through the details,” said an EU official, who was permitted to brief reporters on developments in the sensitive talks on condition that they not be named.

Talks on a plan B of raising the funds on international markets continued, even though there appeared to be no easy way to secure the unanimous support of all 27 member countries for it to pass.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meanwhile pleaded for a quick decision to keep Ukraine afloat in the new year.

Belgium fears that Russia will strike back and prefers the plan B. It says frozen assets held in other European countries should be thrown into the pot as well, and that its partners should guarantee that Euroclear will have the funds it needs should it come under legal attack.

An estimated 25 billion euros ($29 billion) in Russian assets are frozen in banks and financial institutions in other EU countries, including France, Germany and Luxembourg.

“Give me a parachute and we’ll all jump together,” Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever told lawmakers ahead of the summit in reference to the reparation loan plan. “If we have confidence in the parachute that shouldn’t be a problem.”

The Russian Central Bank's lawsuit ramped up pressure on Belgium and its EU partners ahead of the summit.

The loan plan would see the EU lend 90 billion euros ($106 billion) to Ukraine. Countries like the United Kingdom, which said Thursday it is prepared to share the risk, as well as Canada and Norway would help make up any shortfall.

Russia's claim to the assets would still stand, but the assets would remain locked away at least until the Kremlin ends its war on Ukraine and pays for the massive damage it caused.

In mapping out the loan plan, the European Commission set up safeguards to protect Belgium, but De Wever has remained unconvinced.

Soon after arriving at EU headquarters Thursday morning, the Ukrainian president sat down with the Belgian prime minister to make his case for freeing up the frozen funds. The war-ravaged country is at risk of bankruptcy and needs new money by spring.

“Ukraine has the right to this money because Russia is destroying us, and to use these assets against these attacks is absolutely just,'' Zelenskyy told a news conference.

In an appeal to Belgian citizens who share their leader's worries about retaliation, Zelenskyy said: “One can fear certain legal steps in courts from the Russian Federation, but it’s not as scary as when Russia is at your borders.''

“So while Ukraine is defending Europe, you must help Ukraine,” he said.

Whatever method they use, the leaders have pledged to meet most of Ukraine's needs in 2026 and 2027. The International Monetary Fund estimates that would amount to 137 billion euros ($160 billion).

EU Council President António Costa, who is chairing the meeting, vowed to keep leaders negotiating until an agreement is reached, even if it takes days.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said it was a case of sending "either money today or blood tomorrow" to help Ukraine.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that he hopes Belgium's concerns can be addressed.

"The reactions of the Russian president in recent hours show how necessary this is. In my view, this is indeed the only option. We are basically faced with the choice of using European debt or Russian assets for Ukraine, and my opinion is clear: We must use the Russian assets.”

Hungary and Slovakia oppose a reparations loan. Apart from Belgium, Bulgaria, Italy and Malta are also undecided, but as many as nine countries might be required to block the move.

“I would not like a European Union in war," said Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who sees himself as a peacemaker. He’s also Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest ally in Europe. “To give money means war.”

Orbán described the loan plan as a “dead end.''

The outcome of the summit has significant ramifications for Europe's place in negotiations to end the war. The United States wants assurances that the Europeans are intent on supporting Ukraine financially and backing it militarily — even as negotiations to end the war drag on without substantial results.

The loan plan poses important challenges to the way the bloc goes about its business. Should a two-thirds majority of EU leaders decide to impose the scheme on Belgium, which has most to lose, the impact on decision-making in Europe would be profound.

The EU depends on consensus, and finding voting majorities and avoiding vetoes in the future could become infinitely more complex if one of the EU's founding members is forced to weather an attack on its interests by its very own partners.

De Wever too must weigh whether the cost of holding out against a majority is worth the hit his government's credibility would take in Europe.

Associated Press writers Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin and Illia Novikov in Kyiv, Ukraine, contributed to this report.

From left, Portugal's Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, European Council President Antonio Costa, French President Emmanuel Macron and Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban during a round table meeting at the EU Summit in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

European Council President Antonio Costa, center right, speaks with Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, center left, during a round table meeting at the EU Summit in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Belgium's Prime Minister Bart De Wever, center, speaks with from left, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, Netherland's Prime Minister Dick Schoof, Luxembourg's Prime Minister Luc Frieden and Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk during a round table meeting at the EU Summit in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks with the media as he arrives for the EU Summit in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, right, arrives for the EU Summit in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, center, is greeted as she arrives for a round table meeting on migration at the EU Summit in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Olivier Hoslet, Pool Photo via AP)

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, right, and Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz, left, attend a round table meeting on migration at the EU Summit in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Olivier Hoslet, Pool Photo via AP)

FILE - A view of the headquarters of Euroclear in Brussels, on Oct. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert, File)

KABUL, Afghanisan (AP) — Widespread flooding, landslides and lightning strikes triggered by heavy rain and storms across Afghanistan have left 77 people dead and 137 injured over the past 10 days, the country’s Disaster Management Authority said Saturday.

More rain has been forecast for the coming days throughout Afghanistan, and the authority warned the public to stay away from river banks and areas prone to flooding.

So far this year, dozens of people have died due to extreme weather in Afghanistan, an impoverished country that is highly vulnerable to extreme weather events. Earlier this year, heavy snowfall and flash floods left dozens of people dead across the country.

The recent toll includes 26 people killed over the past 48 hours, the disaster authority said. Overall, 793 homes have been completely destroyed and a further 2,673 have been damaged, while floods and landslides have destroyed 337 kilometers (about 210 miles) of roads, it said.

Businesses, agricultural land, water wells and irrigation canals have also been damaged, with more than 5,800 families affected overall, the authority said.

Several highways connecting the country’s capital to the provinces have also been damaged by floods and landslides, forcing travelers to take long, circuitous routes to reach Kabul, Public Works Ministry spokesman Ashraf Haqshinas said Saturday.

They include the Kabul to Jalalabad highway, which is the main route linking the capital to the Pakistani border and eastern Afghan provinces. A landslide and rockfalls, as well as flooding, shut the highway on Thursday morning, and Haqshinas said crews were working to re-open the road.

The Public Works Ministry warned travelers to be cautious when using roads in affected areas.

Flooding has also shut the Salang Pass, a high mountain pass in the Hindu Kush mountain range that connects Kabul to the country’s north, including the major cities of Kunduz and Mazar-e-Sharif.

Snow and heavy rain often trigger flash floods that kill scores, or even hundreds, of people at a time in Afghanistan. In 2024, more than 300 people died in springtime flash floods.

Elena Becatoros contributed from Kabul, Afghanistan.

Residents carry furniture in a wheelbarrow as they clear an area damaged by heavy flooding in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Wahidullah Kakar)

Residents inspect a building that partially collapsed due to heavy flooding in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Wahidullah Kakar)

Residents inspect a building that partially collapsed due to heavy flooding in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Wahidullah Kakar)

Residents inspect a building damaged by heavy flooding in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Wahidullah Kakar)

Locals inspect a damaged house following floods, landslides and thunderstorms in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, Sunday, March 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Sibghatullah)

Locals inspect a damaged house following floods, landslides and thunderstorms in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, Sunday, March 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Sibghatullah)