European leaders gathered in Brussels this week for a high-stakes summit, seeking to solidify their support for Ukraine amid escalating violence and deepening diplomatic rifts with Russia. At the heart of the discussions was a bold plan to leverage 140 billion euros ($163 billion) from frozen Russian central bank assets to fund Ukraine’s defense and reconstruction through 2027—a move that has drawn sharp warnings from Moscow and exposed fissures within the European Union itself.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, welcomed as a “future member” of the EU by European Council President Antonio Costa, made a direct appeal for continued financial backing, long-range weapons, and tougher sanctions on Russia. According to Al Jazeera, Costa told reporters, “Today we will take the political decision to ensure the financial needs from Ukraine to 2026 and 2027.” The technical details, he admitted, would require further negotiation, but the political will was clear: Europe intends to stand by Ukraine.
Yet, this united front masked simmering disagreements. Belgium, which holds the largest portion of the frozen Russian assets—about $225 billion through its Euroclear securities depository—has been wary of the legal and financial risks. Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever stated, “I have not even seen the legal basis for the decision yet,” threatening to halt the plan if his country’s demands weren’t met. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, however, struck a more optimistic tone, expressing confidence that a compromise could be reached. EU High Representative Kaja Kallas echoed this, noting the bloc was ready to work on legal guarantees to address Belgium’s concerns and ensure the risks were shared across member states.
As the debate raged, Zelenskyy made it clear that Ukraine needed the funds by the end of 2025 and insisted on autonomy in how the money would be spent. Meanwhile, Germany, France, and Italy pushed for the funds to be used on European-manufactured weapons, hoping to bolster both Ukraine’s defense and their own arms industries. According to a senior Ukrainian official cited by Reuters, Kyiv is seeking flexibility—especially as the war’s toll mounts and its needs evolve.
Russia, for its part, has responded with fury. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova condemned any move to seize Russian assets as “theft,” warning that such actions would be “null and void from the standpoint of international and contract law” and promising a “painful response.” She told reporters, “Any confiscatory initiatives from Brussels will inevitably result in a painful response. We will act in full compliance with the principle of reciprocity in international relations, based on our own interests and the need to compensate for the damage caused to Russia.” Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev went even further, describing the sanctions as an “act of war.”
Despite these threats, the EU pressed ahead, unveiling its 19th package of sanctions targeting Russia’s banks, crypto exchanges, and entities in India and China. The new measures also blacklist more tankers in Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” and introduce tighter travel restrictions on Moscow’s diplomats. Perhaps most significantly, the package includes a phased ban on Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports—a major step toward the EU’s goal of phasing out Russian energy entirely. Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen called the LNG ban “an important step towards a complete phasing out of Russian energy in the EU.”
Slovakia, which had long resisted the sanctions due to concerns over energy prices and its car industry, finally dropped its opposition after receiving assurances. This allowed the package to move forward, though Hungary remained a holdout on broader financial commitments to Ukraine. According to Deutsche Welle, the summit statement committed the EU to “addressing Ukraine’s pressing financial needs” for the next two years, while also requesting the European Commission to draw up options for further support—a cautious but significant step.
Meanwhile, the United States took its own dramatic action. In his first major move against Moscow since returning to the White House, President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on Russian oil giants Lukoil and Rosneft. The US Treasury set a November 21 deadline for companies to wind down transactions with these producers. Indian oil refiners, major buyers of Russian crude, signaled they would sharply curtail imports before the cutoff. Trump also announced plans to raise concerns about China’s purchases of Russian oil during his upcoming meeting with President Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea.
Zelenskyy welcomed the new sanctions, declaring, “We waited for this. God bless, it will work. This is very important.” He stressed the need for continued pressure, saying, “Pressure means sanctions packages, long-range air defense, and of course, financial support.”
The summit unfolded against a grim backdrop of violence in Ukraine’s east. According to Ukrainian prosecutors, five civilians were shot by Russian troops in the Donetsk region’s village of Zvanivka after failing to provide information on Ukrainian military positions. In Kramatorsk, two Ukrainian journalists, Olena Gramova and Yevgen Karmazin, were killed by a Russian Lancet drone while sitting in their car—an attack condemned by Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman as a war crime. The general prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation, and at least 20 journalists have now died in the combat zone since the invasion began in February 2022.
There was a rare glimmer of good news: after a month-long outage, off-site power was restored to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the longest blackout since the war began. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) called this “a crucial step for nuclear safety and security,” but warned that risks remain as Russia and Ukraine continue to trade blame for shelling near the site.
On the diplomatic front, Zelenskyy pressed EU leaders for long-range weapons, including Tomahawk missiles, to give Ukraine a decisive edge. “When we talk about long-range weapons for Ukraine, we mean that the Putin regime should feel real consequences from this war,” he told the summit, as reported by Deutsche Welle. He added, “Just look at how nervous [Russian President Vladimir] Putin became when this topic came up. He understands that long-range weapons can truly change the course of the war.”
Amid all this, Trump’s own diplomatic overtures have been closely watched. He postponed a planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, citing doubts about its usefulness, and European leaders have reaffirmed their support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity—rejecting any suggestion of concessions. The United Kingdom is set to host a coalition meeting of more than 30 countries supporting Ukraine, underscoring the West’s determination to maintain unity.
As the summit ended, Zelenskyy remained resolute. He declared that while a ceasefire was possible, it would require even greater pressure on Moscow—and that Ukraine would not surrender any territory. The message from Brussels was unmistakable: Europe, for all its internal debates and external threats, is not ready to turn away from Ukraine’s fight for sovereignty and survival.