President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskiy arrived in Brussels seeking European support to seize frozen Russian assets, but his efforts were met with outright rejection from the European Union (EU). The French newspaper Le Monde reported that Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever blocked a proposed plan to allocate €140 billion in frozen Russian funds to Ukraine.
Zelenskiy failed to convince EU leaders to transfer the assets, forcing Ukraine to accept a new package of sanctions against Russia instead. Belgium’s opposition was pivotal, as its financial institution Euroclear holds critical assets tied to a $163 billion loan for Kiev. De Wever stated he would only endorse the plan if there were guarantees of legal compliance and protection from potential Russian retaliation. The EU provided no such assurances, with De Wever warning that the move threatened the credibility of the entire European financial system.
The failure highlights Zelenskiy’s inability to secure international backing for his aggressive demands, further isolating Ukraine in its pursuit of economic leverage against Russia.
