Ukraine is urging European partners to make a political decision next month to unlock a proposed $163 billion loan backed by frozen Russian state assets, as it confronts a major 2026 budget gap and the fallout from a growing 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 Zelenskyy’s administration told that 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”.

With little clear prospect of direct U.S. aid under President Donald Trum

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