EU leaders Thursday tasked the European Commission to move ahead with options for funding Ukraine for two more years, leaving the door open for a mammoth loan using frozen Russian assets.

In broadly-worded conclusions adopted after marathon talks in Brussels, EU leaders stopped short of greenlighting plans for the 140-billion-euro ($162-billion) "reparations loan" -- pushing that crunch decision to December.

But diplomats said the text was a step towards a potential agreement -- though it was watered down in the face of strong objections from Belgium, where the bulk of the Russian central bank funds frozen after the 2022 invasion are held.

European Council President Antonio Costa said the bloc had "committed to ensure that Ukraine's financial needs will be covered for the next two years

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