EU loan boosts Ukraine

Ukraine thanked the European Union Friday for deciding to provide it with 90 billion euros ($105.46 billion) of support over the next two years - even if the bloc failed to agree on an ambitious plan to finance it using frozen Russian assets.

- REUTERS

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the EU had backed away from the plan to use its frozen assets because it would have faced serious repercussions.

The stakes for finding money for Kyiv were high because without the EU's financial help, Ukraine would run out of money in the second quarter of next year and most likely lose the war to Russia, which the EU fears would bring the threat of Russian aggression against the bloc closer.

“This is significant support that truly strengthens our resilience,” Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wrote on the Telegram app after the agreement was reached at a summit of EU leaders.