Russian invasion The world's response

EU agrees on Ukraine aid after 15 hours of talks

The EU has agreed on aid to Ukraine after a night of chaos at the summit in Brussels. The announcement came at 03 on Friday morning after a 15-hour summit.

"We undertook a task, and we delivered," writes Council President António Costa.

The heads of government failed to agree on using the frozen Russian assets. Instead, 24 of the 27 member states will take out a loan of 90 billion euros with the EU budget as collateral. Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia were allowed to stay out, to avoid a veto.

For countries such as Germany and Sweden, which had fought for the use of the Russian assets, the meeting was something of a disappointment. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson says that he is certainly satisfied that Ukraine's financing for the next two years is secured.

– The bad news is that there was not enough support at all to use the frozen Russian assets. It was not close, and I regret that, he says according to TT.
 

Polish president to Zelensky: You are ungrateful

Ukraine is showing a lack of gratitude for Poland's help. This is what Polish President Karol Nawrocki said at a joint press conference with Zelensky, according to AFP.

According to the president, who belongs to the national conservative Law and Justice party, the Polish people feel that the multifaceted Polish support since the invasion "has not been appreciated and understood sufficiently".

– I conveyed this during a direct and honest but very polite conversation with President Zelensky, he says.

Zelensky responds that Ukraine has always been and always will be grateful to Poland.

Russian politicians mock the EU: “Hard blow to warmongers”

After the EU failed last night to agree to give frozen Russian assets to Ukraine, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, is being mocked by Russian politicians. In posts on social media, Kirill Dmitriev, one of the Kremlin’s highest-ranking envoys, writes that the announcement is a “hard blow to the EU’s warmongers led by the failed Ursula,” Politico reports.

In a post on X, he added that “reasonable voices” put a stop to taking the money.

Grigory Karasin, chairman of the foreign affairs committee in the upper house of the Russian parliament, wrote on Telegram that “at the moment, international law, not Ursula von der Leyen, applies”.
The Russian billions that are mostly locked up at Euroclear in Belgium will continue to be frozen. 

Expert: Last night’s announcement from the EU threatens the Gripen deal

Last night’s announcement that the EU will not use frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine could affect the Gripen deal. Johan Huovinen, a lecturer at the Swedish National Defence University, tells DN.

It was in October that a letter of intent was signed that Ukraine would buy 100 Jas Gripen planes and, according to DN, there was an idea to use Russian money for this. Securing Saab’s order could also be a reason why the Swedish side argued so strongly for using the frozen billions.

– It is speculation, but anything else, not to protect Swedish interests, would be irresponsible, Huovinen tells the newspaper. 

Analysis: Don't be fooled, it was a dark day for the EU

The EU countries managed to agree at the eleventh hour on how Ukraine should be financed. But if you scratch the surface a little, it is clear that the EU summit was not a success, several analysts write.

The meeting in Brussels made it clear that the EU is deeply divided on the Ukraine issue, writes Politico Europe's Tim Ross. The Nordic countries, Germany and Poland want to continue giving billions to Ukraine, while countries in the south and east do not want to give a single euro.

"A divided EU argued for months, publicly and privately, about who should foot the bill. And the question has probably not been answered yet," writes Ross.

Ultimately, it may be the EU taxpayers who will have to foot the costs. The loan to Ukraine is being taken with the EU budget as collateral, points out Die Welt's Christoph Schlitz. He calls it a dark day for the EU and especially for Friedrich Merz, who invested great prestige in reaching a solution regarding the Russian assets.

The person who is most satisfied today is Vladimir Putin, writes Christoph Cöln in the German T-online.

“The misanthrope in the Kremlin is convinced that liberal democracies cannot withstand heavy pressure from outside in the long run. The decision from Brussels seems to confirm this.”