Ammon News - Ukraine thanked the European Union on Friday for deciding to provide it with 90 billion euros ($105.46 billion) of support over the next two years - even if the bloc failed to agree on an ambitious plan to finance it using frozen Russian assets.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the EU had backed away from the plan to use its frozen assets because it would have faced serious repercussions.

The stakes for finding money for Kyiv were high because without the EU's financial help, Ukraine would run out of money in the second quarter of next year and most likely lose the war to Russia, which the EU fears would bring the threat of Russian aggression against the bloc closer.

"This is significant support that truly strengthens our resilience," Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wrote on the Telegram app after the agreement was reached at a summit of EU leaders.

The decision followed hours of discussions on the proposal for an unprecedented loan based on Russia's assets, which turned out to be too politically demanding to resolve at this stage. Instead, the EU will borrow cash.

'DAYLIGHT ROBBERY'
Putin said the initial plan to use Russia's frozen assets to back the loan would have amounted to "daylight robbery."

Reuters