A decisive week awaits Ukraine’s coffers, as Russia intercepts drones
The issue of European support for Ukraine has entered a decisive week, amid shuttle consultations between Berlin and Brussels, while Russia announced the interception of Ukrainian drones in several regions.
The European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, said on Monday that this week in Brussels would be “decisive” for Ukraine and for financing its war against Russia.
Speaking ahead of the meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, Kallas stated: “This is an extremely important week” for funding Ukraine, noting that EU leaders will have to take a decision on the matter at a summit scheduled for Thursday and Friday.
She confirmed that negotiations among the 27 member states regarding frozen Russian assets are ongoing, but acknowledged that they are “becoming increasingly difficult”.
EU member states are considering using frozen Russian assets to finance a “reparations loan” for Ukraine. However, several European countries have expressed reluctance, most notably Belgium, where the bulk of these assets in Europe are held.
Kallas admitted that “the most viable option is to provide a loan to finance reparations, and this is what we are working on. We have not reached that stage yet, and the situation is becoming more complicated”.
She nevertheless reiterated a position previously expressed by European Council President António Costa, saying: “We will not leave the summit until we reach a result, until a decision on financing Ukraine is taken”.
A loan?
In addition to using frozen Russian assets, the European Commission has proposed another option, namely a European loan. This proposal, however, faces opposition from several member states, particularly Germany.
Kallas said that this option “does not enjoy broad acceptance”, adding that the use of frozen Russian assets also has the advantage of costing European taxpayers nothing, “which is crucial”.
She added: “It sends a clear message: if you inflict this much damage on another country, you must pay compensation”.
Kallas reiterated that a decision to use these frozen assets can be taken by a qualified majority of member states, but that it cannot be done without Belgium, stating: “I believe it is essential to involve them, whatever decision we take”.
Ahead of the European summit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to meet American negotiators in Berlin on Monday, following talks that lasted five hours on Sunday.
A summit is also scheduled for Monday evening, bringing together Volodymyr Zelensky and several European leaders, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, as well as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
130 drones
On the ground, Russia’s Ministry of Defense announced on Monday that its air defense systems had shot down 130 Ukrainian drones over several Russian regions overnight.
In a statement, the ministry said that “on-duty air defense systems intercepted and destroyed, over the past night, 130 Ukrainian drones between 11:00 p.m. Moscow time on December 14 and 7:00 a.m. Moscow time on December 15”.
The ministry specified that “air defense systems destroyed 25 Ukrainian drones over the Moscow region overnight, including 15 drones that were heading toward Moscow”.
It added that “38 drones were shot down over the Astrakhan region, 25 over the Bryansk region, 8 over each of the Belgorod, Rostov and Kaluga regions, 6 over the Tula region, 4 over the Republic of Kalmykia, 3 over each of the Kursk and Oryol regions, and one drone over the Ryazan region and the Caspian Sea”.
Ukrainian armed forces target Russian border regions and the positions of Russian forces in Ukraine almost daily using drones and missiles.
