President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine met with European leaders in Brussels on Thursday in a last-minute appeal for the European Union to tap frozen Russian assets for Kyiv to use to fight Russia and sustain the country through the war.
“The decision is now on your table,” Mr. Zelensky said, adding that it was “one of the clearest and most morally justified decisions that could ever be made.”
Mr. Zelensky said that without the money, which would be a loan to Ukraine, his country would have to reduce its drone production significantly. He was speaking at a news conference in Brussels, where European leaders were gathering to discuss the plan.
Belgium has opposed the plan for months and wants other European countries to share in the possible legal risk if Russia retaliates against using that money. Mr. Zelensky said he had spoken privately with Belgium’s prime minister, Bart De Wever, to make his case.
On Wednesday, as European leaders were preparing to meet, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia lashed out at European politicians. Speaking in Moscow, he described them as “subordinate little pigs” who had followed the lead of the Biden administration, which he said had believed that “Russia could be swiftly broken up and dismantled.”
Mr. Putin added that President Trump had changed American policy toward Moscow, allowing for what he called “nascent progress.” But he said that a similar shift in relations with Europe was unlikely unless its current leaders were replaced.
The remarks came a day before Mr. Putin was scheduled to hold his annual year-end news conference on Friday.
In Brussels, Mr. Zelensky acknowledged that not all European leaders supported a program set up by the United States and NATO for Ukrainian allies to buy American weapons after the Trump administration halted aid.
“How else are we supposed to get through this winter?” Mr. Zelensky asked. “We need missiles for Patriot systems.”
In talks with the United States on a potential settlement, Mr. Zelensky said there was still no agreement on the postwar use of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant now under Russian occupation or on a Russian request that Ukraine withdraw from territory Kyiv controls in the Donbas region.
Nataliia Novosolova and Ivan Nechepurenko contributed reporting.
Maria Varenikova covers Ukraine and its war with Russia.
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