Summit divided on idea of loan secured against Russian assets, as Belgium seeks guarantees if scheme goes wrong

EU leaders are racing to secure a funding deal for Ukraine that has been cast as a choice between “money today or blood tomorrow”, but Belgium continues to oppose a loan secured against Russia’s frozen assets.

At a summit billed as make or break, EU leaders are discussing an unprecedented move to tap some of Russia’s €210bn sovereign assets frozen in the bloc days after the full-scale invasion of 2022.

Under the scheme, the EU would provide Kyiv with a €90bn loan to help keep Ukraine in the fight, as Russia ekes out gains on the battlefields.

Poland’s prime minister, Donald Tusk, said leaders had a simple choice: “Either money today or blood tomorrow.”