The British government has ruled out its own attempt to use about £8bn in frozen Russian assets held by UK banks to aid Ukraine after a similar EU proposal collapsed in the early hours of Friday morning.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has been a proponent of the idea of using immobilised Russian assets to help fund Ukraine’s defence efforts against the full-scale invasion by its larger neighbour. Kyiv has warned that it faces collapse in early 2026 without additional support.
But on Thursday EU leaders struck a deal to lend €90bn to Ukraine, borrowed against the bloc’s shared budget, after its proposal to use immobilised Russian sovereign assets collapsed.