EditEurope backs Ukraine with frozen assets push as U.S. sanctions bite and diplomatic signals emerge
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted "Coalition of the Willing" talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other leaders
Ukraine’s European allies said frozen Russian assets needed to be used quickly to fund support for Kyiv, one of several measures discussed in London talks on Friday (24 October) to increase the pressure on Vladimir Putin.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted “Coalition of the Willing” talks in London with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other leaders, discussing a range of efforts including taking Russian oil and gas off the global market and giving Kyiv more long-range missiles.
NATO chief Mark Rutte said U.S. President Donald Trump was still reviewing whether to send Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine. Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said the European Union should follow British and U.S. sanctions on Russian oil firms.
And Starmer said on Friday there was “absolute clarity” during the meeting that progress on using frozen Russian assets to fund a loan to support Ukraine must be realised quickly.
EU leaders failed to endorse plan on frozen assets
European Union leaders on Thursday stopped short of endorsing a plan to use frozen Russian assets to fund a giant loan to Kyiv, over concerns raised by Belgium, where hundreds of billions of dollars in Russian reserves are held.
Belgium’s Iron Wall: how one PM held up €140 billion for Ukraine
Zelenskyy had asked the EU leaders in Brussels on Thursday for long-range missiles and to use the frozen assets to provide it with more weapons.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said a solution on how to use the Russian assets must be found before Christmas.
“We have to work in a way that we have a solution before Christmas Eve so we are able to ensure that we can finance Ukraine for the next years,” she told reporters. “I am sure that we will be able to do that.”
Starmer welcomed the EU’s latest sanctions package against Russia, but said there was absolute clarity in the meeting that progress on using frozen assets needed to “come to fruition within a short timetable”.
Zelenskyy welcomed Trump’s decision this week to impose sanctions on Russia’s two biggest oil companies, a dramatic U-turn after last week announcing plans for a summit with Putin.
US sanctions Lukoil and Rosneft as Moscow holds nuclear drills
But Trump has said he is still not ready to provide Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk missiles. Rutte said he had discussed the issue with Trump.
“On particularly the Tomahawks, of course, the president and I discussed that. The issue remains under review by the president and again, it’s up to the U.S to decide,” said Rutte.
Moscow has promised a “painful response” if the assets are seized. Putin also said the U.S. sanctions on oil companies were an unfriendly act but would not significantly affect the Russian economy.
U.S. pressure works?
Kirill Dmitriev, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy for investment and economic cooperation, said on Friday he believes his country, the United States and Ukraine are close to a diplomatic solution to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Speaking to CNN after arriving in Washington for talks with U.S. officials, Dmitriev said that a meeting between Donald Trump and Putin had not been cancelled, as the U.S. president described it, and that the two leaders will likely meet at a later date.
The planned summit was put on hold on Tuesday, as Russia’s rejection of an immediate ceasefire cast a cloud over attempts at negotiations. Trump said he cancelled the planned meeting with Putin in Budapest because of a lack of progress in diplomatic efforts toward ending the war and a sense that the timing was off.
However, Dmitriev on Friday said, “I believe Russia and the U.S. and Ukraine are actually quite close to a diplomatic solution.”
Dmitriev in his comments did not offer details of what this would entail.
“It’s a big move by President Zelenskiy to already acknowledge that it’s about battle lines,” Dmitriev said. “You know, his previous position was that Russia should leave completely – so actually, I think we are reasonably close to a diplomatic solution that can be worked out.”
Dmitriev declined to say who he was meeting and predicted that the U.S. oil sanctions would backfire.
“They will only lead to gasoline costing more at American gas stations,” Dmitriev said.
The U.S. news outlet Axios reported that Dmitriev would meet Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff in Miami on Saturday. The Russian state TASS news agency quoted Dmitriev as saying he would also meet other people who he did not name.
With Reuters.
Caption: (L-R) Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speak to the media following the ‘Coalition of the Willing ‘ meeting in London, Britain, 24 October 2025. The meeting was held to discuss military support for Ukraine attended by Western leaders in person and virtually. EPA/TOLGA AKMEN / POOL
Updated: October 25, 2025 - 06:43
