EUROPE’S leaders are poised to deliver a historic blow to Russia – if they can agree a way to use €200 billion of Kremlin loot to bolster Ukraine’s war chest.
The leaders, who Vladimir Putin called ‘swine’ on Wednesday, are meeting in Brussels today to thrash out a war loan deal for Ukraine.
Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk said: “We have a simple choice – either money today or blood tomorrow.
“And I am not talking about Ukraine only, I am talking about Europe.”
Ukraine and its EU supporters want to use €210 billion in frozen Russian assets as collateral for a loan to Ukraine.
Leaders claim using money, which is mostly held in Belgium, is the most powerful lever they have to force Putin to sue for peace.
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CHRISTMAS HELL
Zelensky rules out Christmas truce as evil Putin AGAIN wrecks peace hopes
It would keep Ukraine in the fight until 2027 while hitting Moscow’s pocket.
President Zelensky told MPs in the Netherlands: “Russians don’t count their dead. But they do count every dollar and every euro they lose.”
He said the deal “must make Russia feel that its desire to continue the war next year is pointless”.
But Belgium opposes the plan amid fears they will be sued by Russia.
Belgian bankers have been subjected to an intimidation campaign by Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency, according to intelligence agencies.
Belgium holds €185 billion of the frozen assets in its specialist Euroclear bank.
Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz – who backs the plan – said the chances of reaching an agreement were only 50/50.
He insisted “we can come to an agreement”.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said: “We just can’t afford to fail. We have to show that we are strong.”
Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said it was the most important EU summit since the war in Ukraine started.
He said: “I believe and hope that we can find technical solutions to the issues that Belgium still has outstanding – but I would like to emphasize that we are not there yet.”
Sources Kyiv warned failing to reach a deal would be a “catastrophe” for every nation in Europe.
It comes after tyrant Putin claimed Russia’s victory was inevitable.
In a meeting with Russia’s Defence Council the tyrant vowed to retake what he claimed were Russia’s “historic lands” by force.
He blasted Ukraine’s supporters in Europe as “podsvinki” – which translates as little pigs or swine.
Putin almost spat out the word as he sat next to General Valery Gerasimov, chief of Russia’s General Staff.
It echoed insults hurled at Britain by Hitler’s Nazis during World War Two.
Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s murderous propaganda chief, repeatedly used the word Schweine – swine – in his diaries to insult enemies.
Putin also threatened that “Russia will achieve the liberation of its historical lands by military means,” unless Ukraine and its allies cave into his demands.
His comments fuelled fears in the Baltic states and eastern Europe that were ruled by the Soviet Union after World War Two.
Putin added: “Everyone thought they would destroy Russia quickly.
“And the European pigs immediately joined in this work of the previous American administration, in the hope of a feast on the collapse of our country.”
He showed zero willingness to really negotiate, insisting his original war aims “will undoubtedly be achieved”.
Those aims including toppling Zelensky’s government, barring Ukraine from the EU and Nato and installing a Kremlin friendly puppet regime.
His comments also appeared designed to divide Europe and America.
He echoed Donald Trump’s complaints that the war was former president Joe Biden’s fault.
And he predicted that European “political elites” would be replaced.
It comes after America’s new National Security Strategy vowed to “oppose elite-driven” policies in Europe.
It said: “We will oppose elite-driven, anti-democratic restrictions on core liberties in Europe, the Anglosphere, and the rest of the democratic world, especially among our allies.”
It also said US policy in Europe would include, “cultivating resistance to Europe’s current trajectory.”
Earlier MI6 spy chief Blaise Metreweli accused Putin of “dragging out negotiations”.
Six key points in security guarantees for Kyiv
- Permanent military support – Ukraine will maintain a powerful army — up to 800,000 troops even in peacetime
- Multinational forces led by Europe – Within the “Coalition of the Willing,” with US support, forces will be created to restore Ukraine’s Armed Forces, protect the skies, and ensure maritime security. Operations inside Ukraine are possible
- Ceasefire monitoring – The monitoring mechanism will be led by the United States with international partners involved.
- Legally binding security guarantees – Any new attack on Ukraine will automatically trigger a response — military, intelligence, economic, and diplomatic.
- Reconstruction and funding – Frozen Russian assets in the EU will remain blocked.
- Path to the EU – Europe officially confirms its support for Ukraine’s accession to the European Union as a cornerstone of long-term security.
She pinned the four year bloodbath squarely on his shoulders saying the “menace of an aggressive Russia” was down to Putin’s warped view of history and his “desire for respect”.
Separately, spies revealed Russia had launched a covert campaign of threats and intimidation against Belgium’s top financiers.
It also comes as hopes of even a brief Christmas ceasefire were brutally dashed, with President Zelensky ruling out any truce after the Kremlin again slammed the door on peace.
Kyiv had pushed for a seasonal pause in fighting, particularly to halt Russian strikes on energy infrastructure, but Moscow made clear it had no intention of easing the pressure.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said bluntly: “We don’t want a truce to give Ukraine a breathing space and prepare for a continuation of the war.
“We want to stop this war, achieve our goals, secure our interests, and guarantee peace in Europe for the future.”
Meanwhile, a fresh decree signed by Putin has authorised the seizure of homes belonging to Ukrainians who fled occupied areas to save their lives.
The law allows Russia to confiscate so-called “ownerless” properties and hand them to displaced Russian civilians or convert them into accommodation for soldiers, deepening fears of permanent occupation.
Putin has already rejected the idea of a Christmas pause unless it is dictated entirely on Moscow’s terms, despite a new European-backed peace proposal agreed by Zelensky and due to be passed to the Kremlin via Washington.
Zelensky has also again refused to surrender territory, pushing back against pressure to withdraw Ukrainian forces and create a demilitarised “free economic zone” in the east.
“I want to stress once again: a ‘free economic zone’ does not mean under the control of Russia. We do not want to give up our Donbas,” he said.