Brussels Delays Ukraine Funds as Leaders Bargain

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked European Union leaders for at least €70 billion in additional funding next year, but the Brussels summit ended without a financing decision. Leaders sent the question back to the Commission for a proposal, while people facing Russian attacks still depend on decisions made across national capitals and EU institutions.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine's war costs would reach €155 billion and that the money was needed for defence, weapons and resilience. Ukraine told the G7 that €40 billion of its 2027 defence needs was unfunded. Zelenskyy said Ukraine could produce two or three times more drones, depending on the type, but didn't have the money. He also asked European countries to draw on their own stocks, including air-defence systems, and requested more Patriot missiles for Ukraine's winter needs. Al Jazeera correspondent Rosie Birchard said using European stocks could compromise some countries' national security.

A promise, then another proposal

European Council President Antonio Costa said, "This is no time to withdraw support to Ukraine. This is no time to relieve Russia's sanctions. Now it is time to increase our support, to increase our pressure." European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Russia was trying to destroy energy and water infrastructure and pledged, "But we stand by your side. We will support you as we did in the other winters." She later said the €70 billion "has to be covered" and urged partner countries to "step in."

The leaders asked the Commission to prepare a financing proposal. Costa said they had agreed to address Ukraine's additional 2027 financing needs, but closing news conferences brought no endorsement of a specific funding option. Estonia's Prime Minister Kristen Michal said the EU would probably need to provide a new loan. Austria's Chancellor Christian Stocker urged caution, saying, "There are so many figures being bandied about that we now need to put them into context, explain them and make it clear where this shortfall is coming from."

Options included another EU loan, funds from Ukraine's non-EU allies and untapped EU funds. The EU was already paying instalments of a €90 billion loan intended to cover Kyiv's funding through the end of 2027. Leaders also revisited frozen Russian central-bank assets. France 24 reported calls to tap about €200 billion; POLITICO described discussion of roughly €300 billion. Belgium holds most of the assets and remained opposed. Latvia's premier Andris Kulbergs said, "The frozen assets are there. That's what should be used for supporting Ukraine." Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said "nothing has changed" and short-term support had to come from other sources.

War, leverage and the satellite switch

The funding debate unfolded as Zelenskyy's relationship with US President Donald Trump deteriorated. The United States eased sanctions on Russian oil products as part of a deal for Russia to supply diesel to global markets. Zelenskyy said the deal would put "more money straight into Putin's pocket to fund this war." Trump called Ukraine's renewed strikes on Russian refineries "a disgrace" and said, "I find Zelensky to be more difficult to deal with than Putin."

Disruption to Starshield, the US-provided military satellite system that Elon Musk's SpaceX operates, hampered Ukraine's ability to counter Russian bombardments. Ukraine uses Starshield for battlefield communications, strikes on Russian-occupied territory and interceptor drones. Zelenskyy said its speed hadn't fully returned to its previous level and that the disruption put civilians at risk. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said, "Starlink is really necessary for Ukraine. And unfortunately, in short term, Europe can't replace this capability."

Budgets and borders, still unresolved

The summit, held over Thursday and Friday and concluding October 16, also ended without agreement on the EU's 2028-2034 budget. The budget totals nearly €2 trillion. Kristersson said member states were "incredibly far apart" on the seven-year budget, which includes almost €100 billion for Ukraine. Germany led a group seeking a smaller budget, while the "Friends of Cohesion" called for a larger one. Leaders delayed decisions to further gatherings in November and December; an extraordinary summit on the bloc's budget dispute was set for November 26.

Migration offered another view of how governments use the Brussels table. Denmark, Italy and Poland proposed summit conclusions linking irregular migration to crime rates and describing it as a threat to European social cohesion. Around 10 countries, including Hungary, supported the proposal, diplomats told POLITICO. It indirectly targeted Spain, where Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's plan to regularize about 1 million irregular migrants had caused clashes with Italy's Giorgia Meloni and Denmark's Mette Frederiksen. Leaders deleted the proposed paragraphs from the final conclusions, retaining only a shortened version. Ursula von der Leyen said the Commission would propose an emergency response framework before the end of the year.

Meanwhile, Russian strikes killed three people in Kharkiv and left hundreds of thousands without power in Ukraine, Al Jazeera reported. The summit produced promises of continued support, but no decision on the requested funding. The Commission and governments bargaining over the budget now face the next move.