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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
Of the donor assistance needed for next year, only $20 billion is currently guaranteed.
Ukraine urged the European Union to use frozen Russian assets to cover financial and military needs in 2027. Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko presented these calculations during meetings with international donors and financial institutions in Brussels, Euronews reported.
If allies do not increase their contributions, the total gap could reach $78 billion, or €68,77 billion. Marchenko called the use of Russian assets a practical and fair way to fund Ukraine’s extraordinary wartime expenditures. He said it would also help preserve the country’s debt sustainability and ensure Moscow’s accountability for the aggression.
About €210 billion of such Russian assets are located in the European Union. Most of them are held at the Belgian depository Euroclear. Marchenko acknowledged the issue is politically difficult and urged the EU to consider a centralized mechanism with proper legal justification.
He made similar arguments on Monday during a discussion organized by the European Policy Centre. The session considered the possibility of transferring assets from Euroclear to a custodian structure owned by the European Union. That option aims to reduce risks for Belgium.
“We need our friends, our European politicians, to be brave enough to take some bold actions. Unfortunately, the war is lasting longer, the war is getting tougher, and we need to find some resolution on frozen Russian assets or provide other means for survival,” the minister said in his remarks.
The question of using assets of the Central Bank of Russia, frozen after February 2022, has been discussed in the EU before. Last year the European Commission tried to use those funds as the basis for an interest-free credit line for Ukraine. The proposal failed to get support in December at the EU summit. Belgium, which led opposition to the decision, was able to form a majority against the initiative.
As an alternative, EU leaders agreed to create a loan of €90 billion, guaranteed by joint debt. The amount was split evenly: €45 billion was allocated for 2026 and another €45 billion for 2027. However, further escalation by Russia quickly increased Ukraine’s financial needs.
“We are very pleased with 90 billion euros. But it is not enough,” Marchenko said.
Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain and Poland, with support from the Baltic states, also warned that the agreed loan will be insufficient. They called for finding new ways to use Russian assets. Belgium immediately opposed the new approach. According to diplomats, Italy and France, whose positions could be decisive, remain skeptical about using Russian sovereign funds.
The European Commission seeks to avoid a repeat failure and insists the priority now is to disburse the already agreed loan of €90 billion. That process has slowed due to insufficient reform pace in the Verkhovna Rada.
Some EU officials have expressed frustration that Ukraine is asking for new funding without completing the necessary work to receive already approved assistance. Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kós stressed this point during the donor conference on Tuesday.
“Our message to our Ukrainian friends is clear: implement the agreed reforms so we can continue to support you financially. The government, the Rada and institutions across Ukraine must unite behind these collective efforts and act decisively to implement reforms,” she said in her opening remarks.
Over the past month the European Commission has held intensive consultations with Ukraine and the IMF to determine the exact scale of the financial shortfall. Initially Kyiv reported a gap in the Defense Ministry’s budget for this year of $27 billion. That estimate was later reduced. During the current talks, Marchenko focused primarily on the needs for 2027 rather than the current year.
Recall that amid the debate over financing for Ukraine, Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur called on the EU to use frozen Russian assets despite threats from Moscow. Pevkur stressed that Europe should not abandon this because of threats from Sergey Lavrov and sabotage carried out by Russian intelligence services.
Preliminary IMF calculations also indicate that by 2029 the deficit in Ukraine’s external financing could reach $54 billion. The largest shortfall is expected in 2027 — from $30 billion to $35 billion, while in 2028 it could amount to $17 billion, and in 2029 — $2 billion. These estimates may still change, and the IMF declined to comment.
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