( l. to r. ) Tusk, Zelensky, Starmer, Macron ( from Deutschlandfunk )
Posted on 12/19/2025 7:50:09 AM PST by frithguild
European Union leaders have struck a late-night deal to lend Ukraine €90bn (£79bn; $105bn) over the next two years, after failing to agree on using frozen Russian assets.
Ukraine was set to run out of cash by next spring, and European Council chief António Costa said the loan would be paid back only when Russia paid reparations for its full-scale war.
"We committed, we delivered," said Costa, while Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuliya Svyrydenko praised the deal as "a decisive step for economic resilience".
A bid to use €210bn in Russian cash frozen in the EU, mainly in Belgium, ultimately failed as leaders could not convince Belgium's prime minister his country would be protected from Russian retaliation. *** Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron said he believed it would be "useful" for Europe to re-engage with Putin.
"I believe that it's in our interest as Europeans and Ukrainians to find the right framework to re-engage this discussion," he said, adding that Europeans should find the means to do so "in coming weeks".
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
The 'loan' won't get paid back.
But someone over there understood the repercussions of theft being proposed.
Macron's comment was interesting. Suddenly Russia's point of view matters? More likely its because Trump and Putin are talking while the EU is sitting at the kiddie table.
They would have used them if they could get away with it.
How did the movie The Money Pit end?
They vow to sell the house once it is restored and split the proceeds. This nearly happens, but he misses her and says he loves her even if she did sleep with Max. She happily tells him that in fact she did not, and they reconcile. In the end, they are married in front of the newly repaired house.
The End lol
Is Macron backing off?? Looks it...All these EU countries are being hurt...they need Russian oil/gas.
( l. to r. ) Tusk, Zelensky, Starmer, Macron ( from Deutschlandfunk )
Is it obvious now? The globalist EU wanted this war
They roped-in their traitorous, Atlanticist, 5th columnist allies, spread throughout the US deep-state to be their muscle in their confrontation with Russia.
Trump came along and said NO
So they tried all means possible to remove him.
...”economic resilience” = we continue the kickbacks.
More likely the French have financial interests abroad under Russian control, that would be seized by Russia if there becomes a new international law governing ownership and protection of sovereign funds held abroad
To do this he must convince the American people that Russia is a noble and virtuous potential ally or at least an acceptable potential vendor of oil and minerals, or, he must convince the American people that Europe, NATO and Ukraine are unworthy of association with the United States because they are undemocratic, corrupt and elitist.
Today Europe put a lie to the slanders that it is feckless and toothless. This loan eliminates the possibility that Ukraine will not be able to financially sustain the war in the short term. Now, the the only question that remains is Ukraine's capacity to muster sufficient boots on the ground in the very confused front lines that distinguish this new kind of drone warfare.
Ukraine's negotiating position is obviously improved and should be able to withstand the duplicity of Donald Trump at the negotiating table. Importantly, it means that Ukraine can and will continue its campaign of bankrupting Russia by long-range strikes against Russia's oil and electric infrastructure.
This should put an end to this nonsense dredged up by isolationists to undermine the EU, NATO and Ukraine's valiant struggle by painting them hopelessly feckless. Of course, slanders of their corruption will continue at full throttle.
“Ukraine was set to run out of cash by next spring”
How long till the EU runs out of cash?
International finance interests as protected by existing international law outweigh political casting by unelected EU politicians.
The “rules-based-order” has certain….rules
Plus BRICS is watching….
Eventually there will be peace and even Europe wants a return of trade and access to Russian resources (even if that seems unimaginable today).
In fact, even now, despite all the talk and show, there are STILL Russian resources flowing into resource poor Europe.
When a return to normal relations occurs, a condition will a return of what what belongs to the Russians.
Theft of their money might seem like a real macho thing to do right now, but it shows a lack of foresight and pure grandstanding by those advocating such today.
I don't think it was grandstanding. They realized the rest of the world wouldn't tolerate it, including I suspect citizens of their own countries they claim to represent.
The parallel to what Trudeau and Freeland did to the Canadian truckers four years ago is striking. Speaking of which, they seemed to have gone to ground, like Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand.
Is NATO scrapped? If only it were so.
And yes, EU is still feckless and toothless. They are revealed to be more so every day.
Now hurry back to Davos
Details.
That meeting was a 15 hour marathon, the vast majority of which was pointed at Belgium to access the frozen assets NOW. The EU had zero desire to fund all this themselves, but the global systemic realities precluded grabbing the frozen assets, probably ever. The ECB staff and pretty much all financial consultants told them this was not possible. A central bank’s asset storage stored outside its own borders was a universally common thing for all such banks of the world — as part of foreign currency exchange. It would end international commerce.
The phrasing from the Germans was — this is a 2 year loan that will not have to be repaid until Russia provides reparations funding after the war. If they do not provide that funding then we will make another effort to take those assets — in accordance with international law.
There was no mention of what happens if the war ends with Russian victory.
Another detail. Ukraine has a loan from the G-7 that is due in the near term. This money from the EU substantially isn’t going to weapons or govt salaries. It is going to pay off that previous loan.
And as noted above Macron required only an hour or two before he started calling with direct discussions with Russia. When you are paying the bills yourself, and you don’t have the money to do that, negotiations with “evil” starts to get more palatable.
I thought for sure there would be a ‘Trump is Putin’s puppet’ in there. So much supposition, but not surprising.
Keeping us out of your foreign s**thole is one of the great things Trump is pushing. For that you accuse him of "duplicity." Duplicitous for not wastefully flushing even more billions of our kids' money into the lost Ukrainian cause.
Trump doesn't want America to be Europe - too bankrupt to service their own citizens, but not bankrupt enough to waste tens of billions more on a corrupted regime that is all but finished. We're already hundreds of billions in the hole because of war-fools who think like you.
Donald Trump has taken it upon himself to scrap an 80 year treaty that has proven the most successful multilateral defense pact in history..
Ukraine isn't NATO, ignoramous. NATO has been "successful" at at leeching massive amounts of American's (borrowed) treasure, for decades now. We have nothing to show for any of it, except massibe debt for pass on to our kids.
If that's your definition of "successful," you must be in a trailer driving some s**tbox jalopy from all your successes in life.
Notice how the BBC delivers this narrative like the Brits are spectators for anything BritKraine.
A fascinating assertion.
--- "...nonsense dredged up by isolationists...."
An equally fascinating phrase.
--- "...slanders of their corruption will continue at full throttle."
A MOST fascinating phrase.
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