international_relations

Zelensky Personally Participates in the European Union Summit in Brussels

December 17, 2025 shorouknews.com
Zelensky Personally Participates in the European Union Summit in Brussels

Ukrainian President Zelensky participates in the EU summit to discuss financial support for Ukraine and frozen Russian central bank assets.

SUMMARY

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky personally participates in the EU summit in Brussels, focusing on financial support for Ukraine and the use of frozen Russian central bank assets amid legal disputes among member states.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

  • Zelensky personally participates in the EU summit in Brussels.
  • Discussion on financial support for Ukraine against Russia over the next two years.
  • Proposal to use frozen Russian central bank assets within the EU.
  • Belgium opposes for legal reasons due to concerns over Euroclear financial institution.
  • Russian central bank files a lawsuit against Belgian company Euroclear demanding massive compensation.

CORE SUBJECT

Zelensky's participation in the EU summit and the issue of frozen Russian central bank assets

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky intends to personally participate as a guest in the European Union leaders' summit scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday, in Brussels, according to an announcement by European Council President Antonio Costa just hours before the summit begins.

The summit will focus primarily on ensuring the necessary financial support for Ukraine in its confrontation with Russia over the next two years.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz supports the proposal to use the frozen assets of the Russian central bank held within the European Union, while Belgium opposes this so far for legal reasons.

The Belgian government is concerned about the fate of the financial institution "Euroclear," which is the securities depository and recently managed about 185 billion euros (217 billion dollars) of the Russian central bank's funds, representing the majority of the total 210 billion euros frozen in the European Union.

Russia has repeatedly warned against tampering with its frozen assets.

The Russian central bank filed a lawsuit in a Moscow court the day before yesterday, Monday, demanding compensation of 18.2 trillion rubles, equivalent to about 229 billion dollars, from the Belgian company Euroclear over the freezing of its assets, which the bank considers an illegal action.

KEYWORDS

Zelensky EU Summit Ukraine Russian Central Bank Frozen Assets Euroclear Financial Support Russia

MENTIONED ENTITIES 7

Volodymyr Zelensky

👤 Person_Male

Ukrainian President

Antonio Costa

👤 Person_Male

President of the European Council

Friedrich Merz

👤 Person_Male

German Chancellor

Belgium

📍 Location_Country

EU member state opposing the use of frozen assets

Euroclear

🏛️ Organization

Belgian financial institution and securities depository

Russian Central Bank

🏛️ Organization

Russia's central bank, filed lawsuit against Euroclear

Moscow

📍 Location_City

Capital of Russia where the lawsuit was filed