UKRAINE NEEDS ANOTHER €70 BILLION—RUSSIA’S FROZEN ASSETS SHOULD HELP PAY
Europe is searching for another €70 billion to support Ukraine in 2027 as Russia’s escalating attacks drive needs beyond existing funding plans, Euronews reports.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told EU leaders that Ukraine’s war effort would cost an estimated €155 billion next year. He appealed for additional support for defense, weapons and resilience, including the funding needed to expand Ukrainian drone production.
Brussels is considering further joint borrowing or returning to proposals involving frozen Russian state assets. Both face political and financial obstacles, and no new package has been agreed.
But the principle should be clear: Russia should pay for the destruction Russia causes.
Every damaged power facility, burned warehouse and shattered home adds to Ukraine’s burden. Kyiv bears the scars of repeated attacks on its buildings, transport and electricity network. Across the country, Ukrainians are paying through lost lives, interrupted work and the repeated destruction of what they have repaired.
European taxpayers are being asked to shoulder more of that cost while Russian state assets remain immobilised abroad. Those assets should help finance Ukraine’s defense and recovery through a workable mechanism that can withstand legal challenges.
Using the principal would go further than using the earnings generated by frozen assets. That requires difficult decisions—but continued Russian attacks make delay costly too.
The air-defense shortages deepen the urgency. Ukraine says interceptors already paid for by its partners are awaiting American approvals. When protection is delayed, further attacks can bring more deaths, more destruction and another repair bill. The precise financial impact cannot yet be calculated, but the consequences extend well beyond the battlefield.
Europe’s response must therefore connect funding with protection: keep Ukraine’s defenses supplied, expand its production capacity and make Russia bear a greater share of the cost.
Ukraine should not have to keep borrowing to survive destruction inflicted by a state whose money Europe already holds.