EditAs EU stalls on frozen Russian assets, Trump eyes $200 billion U.S. grab for Wall Street
This brazen appropriation exploits the EU's hesitation, as the U.S. holds just $5-6 billion domestically but eyes the €194 billion Belgian trove
In a stark illustration of fracturing Western unity, the European Union teeters on the brink of paralysis over how to wield €210 billion ($245 billion) in frozen Russian Central Bank assets held in a Belgian depository, while across the Atlantic, U.S. President Donald Trump is advancing a unilateral blueprint to seize up to $200 billion of those same funds for American-led reconstruction in Ukraine.
The Wall Street Journal broke the story on 10 December, revealing that the Trump administration had quietly circulated detailed appendices proposing that Wall Street firms tap roughly $200 billion of frozen Russian sovereign assets – mostly held in Belgium – to finance U.S.-managed reconstruction projects in Ukraine.
Conversely, European governments, led by Germany and France, have consistently pushed for the frozen Russian assets to be used primarily to finance Ukraine’s war effort and reconstruction on Kyiv’s terms, through mechanisms such as the EU’s proposed €210 billion reparations loan and direct G7-backed military aid packages.
The EU’s internal gridlock, centered on Belgium’s vehement opposition, risks ceding control to Washington, potentially reshaping the war’s endgame in Moscow’s favor – or at least in Wall Street’s.
The frozen assets, immobilized since Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, total around €300 billion ($350 billion) globally, with the lion’s share—€183 billion ($212 billion)—parked at Euroclear, the Brussels-based clearing house. For the EU, these represent a moral and financial lifeline for Kyiv: a proposed “reparations loan” would borrow against the assets’ cash balances to disburse €90 billion ($105 billion) by end-2027, with €115 billion earmarked for Ukraine’s defence buildup and €95 billion for budget support. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled the plan on 3 December, invoking Article 122 of the EU Treaty to bypass vetoes via qualified majority voting, ensuring indefinite immobilization until Russia pays war reparations
But Belgium, as host nation, has slammed the brakes. Prime Minister Bart De Wever and Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot decry it as “fundamentally wrong” and “categorically unacceptable,” warning of existential risks: Russian lawsuits under international law could balloon claims to €500 billion ($580 billion) with compound interest, potentially bankrupting the country if sanctions lift and Euroclear must repay Moscow.
Euroclear’s CEO, Valérie Urbain, has even hinted at suing the EU if forced to comply, prioritizing the firm’s “credibility and trust” in global markets.
Despite concessions – like member-state guarantees proportional to GNI (Germany: €51 billion, France: €34 billion) – Belgium demands unconditional EU budget backing, a non-starter amid fiscal austerity.
With the December 18 Brussels summit looming, seven pro-Ukraine states (Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Sweden, Ireland) urged action in a 8 December letter, but diplomats whisper of a scaled-back €45 billion EU budget alternative—insufficient for Ukraine’s €137 billion 2026–2027 needs.
Enter Trump, whose “America First” pivot has transformed the assets from a collective sanction into a U.S. windfall. Appendices to his November 28-point Ukraine peace plan – leaked via The Wall Street Journal on 10 December – propose channeling $200 billion of the frozen pot into U.S.-managed ventures, starting with $100 billion for American firms’ reconstruction projects in Ukraine, yielding 50% profits to Washington.
The remainder would seed a U.S.-Russia “investment vehicle” for joint Arctic oil drilling and rare-earth mining, unfreezing European-held funds post-deal while lifting sanctions in phases.
Zelenskyy huddled with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, advisor Jared Kushner, and BlackRock’s Larry Fink in Miami on 10 December to pitch details, including a audacious data center at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant—Europe’s largest, under IAEA watch but shelled repeatedly.
This brazen appropriation – dubbed a “$300 billion signing bonus” by critics – exploits the EU’s hesitation, as the U.S. holds just $5-6 billion domestically but eyes the €194 billion Belgian trove.
European diplomats, speaking anonymously, liken it to Yalta 2.0: Trump deciding the future of Europe in the absence of the Europeans.
Caption: US President Donald J Trump makes remarks in a roundtable with high-tech business executives in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 10 December 2025. The President announced the US has seized oil tanker near Venezuela and a new special corporate immigration gold card focused on keeping students in the US. EPA/AARON SCHWARTZ / POOL
Updated: December 11, 2025 - 16:01
