By Tom Balmforth

LONDON (Reuters) -Ukraine is pushing European allies to take a political decision to release a proposed $163-billion loan based on frozen Russian state assets next month, as it frets over a gaping hole in the 2026 budget and fallout from an unfolding corruption scandal.

European leaders failed to agree on the “Reparations Loan” for Kyiv last month and will discuss it again at a summit on December 18, with Ukraine expected to need its first big injections of financial support from the second quarter of 2026.

A senior official in President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s administration told Reuters the summit looked to be the last chance for Europe this year to agree to provide the loan for Ukraine, a move Russia said would elicit a “painful response”.

“We don’t expect all technic

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