TEHRAN (Iran News) The purpose of this loan is to meet Ukraine’s needs for the years 2026 and 2027, and it will be paid in the form of covering military and budgetary expenses (such as ammunition and reconstruction).

Ukraine is obliged to repay the loan only if Russia pays war reparations. Otherwise, the European Union had reserved for itself the right to use frozen Russian assets to compensate for the loan. This option, however, was vetoed by Belgium, which is the custodian of Russia’s frozen assets.

The initial proposal to use Russian assets was put forward by London, but due to Belgium’s opposition (since most of these assets are held there) and legal and security concerns, it was abandoned. In other words, Belgium was unwilling to take the risk of openly antagonizing Russia and, in the event of changing circumstances, to be obliged to compensate Russia for the use of those assets.

Therefore, this loan will not be financed from frozen Russian assets, but rather through borrowing by the European Union from capital markets.

In addition, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic initially opposed the loan package. Eventually, they agreed to it only after being exempted from any financial obligations.

Thus, up to this point, the remaining EU member states have committed to financing the loan.

Volodymyr Zelensky, the imposed and now time-expired president of Ukraine, has described this loan as guaranteeing “financial certainty for the coming years.” This is despite the fact that he had requested $160 billion, but ultimately agreed to a $106 billion package.

In response to the lack of US support for this plan, leaders such as the German chancellor and the French president described the decision as a major, practical step and a sign of Europe’s continued support for Ukraine. They warned that Ukraine is facing a severe liquidity shortage. The International Monetary Fund estimates that the country will need €137 billion ($161 billion) for the years 2026 and 2027. Without this assistance, the Ukrainian government would have been on the brink of absolute bankruptcy by spring 2026.

Under these circumstances, overall, this $106 billion loan is an emergency financial measure by the European Union to prevent Ukraine’s bankruptcy and to support its military and economic efforts over the next two years. However, this agreement was the result of a complex political bargaining process in which the EU, instead of the bolder plan of using Russian assets, chose the more traditional method of borrowing in order to preserve its unity and to put on a show of strength in response to Trump’s withdrawal.

Nevertheless, it is quite clear that this loan will, on the whole, do little to solve Ukraine’s problems and will instead draw Europe deeper into the Ukrainian quagmire. This is because Russia has fully adapted to this war of attrition and, through various measures, has pushed the United States out of the scene, further separated Europe from NATO, and made the Ukrainian knot even tighter.

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TEHRAN (Iran News) US President Donald Trump hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and several European leaders for talks on the war in Ukraine. While officials described the discussions on Monday as making “progress,” no peace deal or ceasefire appeared imminent.

The talks, held at the White House, followed discussions between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the conflict between Moscow and Kiev, now its fourth year.

Trump hosted Putin in the city of Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday, for the discussions that produced no agreement on a ceasefire either.

“All of us would obviously prefer an immediate ceasefire while we work on a lasting peace. Maybe something like that could happen. As of this moment, it’s not happening,” Trump said addressing his meeting with leaders from Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Finland, the EU and NATO.

The US president however assured Zelensky that American support would be part of any security guarantees for Ukraine in a potential peace agreement, though the specifics of such commitments remained undefined.

Following the Monday summit, Trump also announced that he has initiated preparations for a potential meeting between the Ukrainian and Russian presidents, which would be followed by a meeting between Trump, Putin, and Zelensky.

Putin has agreed to face-to-face talks with Zelensky, according to Trump and European leaders, but Russia has not confirmed any meeting yet. Zelensky also expressed openness to talks with Russia “in any format.”

This is while, the Russian president has previously resisted a one-on-one meeting with Zelensky.

Trump characterized the multilateral summit with Zelensky and European leaders as “an important preliminary move” in resolving the nearly four-year conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

“I believe this is a major step forward,” Zelensky was quoted by The Guardian as saying.

He added that the security guarantees for Ukraine would probably be worked out within 10 days.

Ukraine will promise to buy $100bn of US weapons financed by Europe as part of a deal to get guarantees from the US for its security if there is a peace settlement with Russia, according to news reports.

In the meantime, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the Monday talks at the White house as “good and constructive” over the “two material outcomes”, including work on security guarantees, and the planned Putin-Zelensky meeting.

French President Emmanuel Macron echoed similar comments. He said the most significant outcome of the talks at the White House was the willingness of the US to work on the content of security guarantees for Ukraine. Macron meanwhile called for stepping up sanctions against Russia if Putin does not move forward on peace with Ukraine.

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TEHRAN (Iran News) Russia says Ukraine has increased its attacks on Russian energy infrastructure, hitting targets 14 times in the last 24 hours, despite a U.S.-brokered moratorium.

In a statement published on Telegram, the Russian Defense Ministry said Ukraine has “multiplied the number of unilateral attacks using drones and artillery shells on the energy infrastructure of Russian regions.”

The Russian ministry said the strikes had caused damage to Russia’s Bryansk, Belgorod, Smolensk, Lipetsk, and Voronezh regions, as well as the Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Kherson, parts of which Russia controls.

In its own statement on Telegram, Ukraine’s military said that the reports were “fake” and that its forces were only striking military targets.

Ukraine’s military has previously said it halted strikes on Russian energy facilities on March 18.

Russia and Ukraine agreed last month to a U.S. proposal for a 30-day moratorium on striking each other’s energy infrastructure.

Both sides have since repeatedly accused each other of violating the deal.

The deal was part of a wider diplomatic push by U.S. President Donald Trump since his return to the White House in January to end the conflict.

Separately, on Saturday, authorities in two Russian regions reported Ukrainian drone strikes on local industrial facilities.

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TEHRAN (Iran News) The politician shared his predictions about changes in US foreign policy under Trump after having a phone conversation with him on Monday. He suggested that Kiev’s backers should facilitate negotiations before the Republican takes office on January 20.

“I think we in Europe and the rest of the world need to understand that Donald Trump is very serious about getting a peace deal sooner rather than later,” he said on Tuesday, speaking on the sidelines of a climate summit in Azerbaijan. “I have myself said there’s a window of opportunity for these negotiations between the election and inauguration day.”

Stubb has been among the most vocal supporters of the Ukrainian cause. Asked if he believed Trump could get a “just and fair” deal for Ukraine, he instead described what a good outcome for Kiev would be in his opinion. He reiterated Kiev’s demands, which Moscow has called detached from reality.

Trump claimed on the campaign trail that he could end the conflict within 24 hours, if American voters put him back in power. He has not disclosed the details of his plan, but media reports suggest he could put pressure on both Moscow and Kiev to force a compromise.

The government of Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has formulated a pitch to the president-elect, asking him to maintain the flow of US aid in exchange for privileged access to Ukrainian natural resources and other perks, the Financial Times claimed this week, citing sources.

Moscow claims the Ukraine conflict is a US-led proxy war against Russia, in which Ukrainian troops are serving as ‘cannon fodder’. Russian soldiers have an advantage on the battlefield and are making the fastest progress in months, according to media analysis.

The Russian government says it will only accept an outcome that addresses the core causes of the crisis, including NATO’s enlargement in Europe. Finland, a neighbor of Russia, joined the US-led military bloc in April 2023, departing from its traditional policy of neutrality, which it adopted after World War II.

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TEHRAN (Iran News) Trump soundly defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in Tuesday’s presidential election, with Republicans also taking control of the Senate and on track to keep the House majority. Since then, several EU leaders have called to congratulate him.

“Trump has been noncommittal on Ukraine in the calls, mainly listening and asking questions,” the WSJ reported on Friday, citing anonymous officials briefed on the conversations.

EU leaders taking part in the European Political Community summit in Hungary this week appear to be divided on Ukraine, according to the newspaper. At a dinner on Thursday at the parliament in Budapest, leaders from the Baltic states and Scandinavia urged the bloc to step up their support for Kiev if Washington pulls back. French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni seemed less enthusiastic.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the host of the summit, has urged Trump to negotiate a ceasefire in Ukraine as soon as possible. Slovakian PM Robert Fico has spoken out in favor of peace as well.

Speaking to reporters after the dinner, European Council President Charles Michel told reporters that the bloc has tried to persuade Trump that being “weak with Russia” would send a wrong signal to China and the rest of the world. The day before, Macron reportedly asked Trump to secure “real concessions” from Russia in any talks over Ukraine.

On Thursday, Macron told the summit that “our interest is that Russia doesn’t win this war… Because if it wins, that means that there will be an imperialist power lined up on our borders.”

Finnish PM Petteri Orpo said the summit needed to “give a clear message” to Trump that “we support Ukraine as long and as much is needed.”

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky told the EPC summit that he did not yet know Trump’s plans, but that Kiev should “decide what should and should not be on the agenda for ending this war.” He also demanded from the EU the roughly $300 billion in frozen Russian sovereign assets if the US cuts him off, claiming the money “rightfully belongs” to Ukraine.

As the WSJ acknowledged, however, Ukraine is “overwhelmingly dependent on foreign military assistance and budgetary support” from the West.

The US has given the Ukrainian government $106 billion since the conflict escalated in February 2022, including $70 billion in military aid, and spent another $70 billion funding “various US activities associated” with Ukraine. The EU has contributed a total of $133 billion in financial, humanitarian, refugee, and military assistance. Norway and the UK, which are in NATO but outside the EU, have also spent billions.

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