analysis

The headquarters of Euroclear in Brussels, on Oct. 23. Belgium-based Euroclear, the world’s biggest depository of securities, is against a proposal to use Russian assets to help Ukraine's war effort.

Ever since Donald Trump cut funding to Kyiv, the European Union has been looking for ways to keep Ukraine in the fight against Russia. Doing so meant finding a lot of money – fast.

But how? Grants from EU countries (plus the U.K.) or Eurobonds were two options, both of which would add to the financial burden of the member states. The third option came with the appeal of free money: Use frozen Russian assets to underpin an interest-free loan to Ukraine. If Russia were to refuse to pay war reparations, the loan would not be paid back.

In recent days, the European Commission, t

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