Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) declares it struck a Russian “shadow fleet” tanker in neutral waters in the Mediterranean Sea for the first time, a security official not authorized to speak publicly notified Associated Press.
According to the official, the QENDIL tanker was empty in the moment of strike that critically damaged it, ensuring that the attack didn’t carry a threat to the environment.
The SBU official declared the tanker, was struck off Libya’s coast with aerial drones but didn’t clarify when it happened.
EU leaders agree to lconclude Ukraine €90b without Russian assets
European Union leaders agreed overnight to provide a massive interest-free loan to Ukraine to meet its military and economic requireds for the next two years, but they failed to bridge differences with Belgium that would have allowed them to apply frozen Russian assets to raise the funds.
After almost four years of war, the International Monetary Fund estimates that Ukraine will required €137 billion (NZ$278 billion) in 2026 and 2027. The government in Kyiv is on the verge of bankruptcy and desperately requireds the money by spring.
The plan had been to apply some of the €210 billion (NZ$427 billion) worth of Russian assets that are frozen in Europe, mostly in Belgium.
The leaders worked deep into Friday night to reassure Belgium that they would protect it from any Russian retaliation if it backed the “reparations loan” plan, but as the talks bogged down the leaders eventually opted to borrow the money on capital markets.
“We have a deal. Decision to provide €90 billion (NZ$183 billion) of support to Ukraine for 2026-27 approved. We committed, we delivered,” EU Council President António Costa declared in a post on social media.
Not all countries agreed to the loan package. Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic refapply to support Ukraine and opposed it, but a deal was reached in which they did not block the package and were promised protection from any financial fallout.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who is Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest ally in Europe and describes himself as a peacecreater, declared “I would not like a European Union in war.”
“To give money means war,” declared Orbán. He also described the rejected plan to apply the frozen Russian assets as a “dead conclude”.
French President Emmanuel Macron declared the deal was a major advance, declareing that borrowing on capital markets “was the most realistic and practical way” to fund Ukraine and its war efforts.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also hailed the decision.
“The financial package for Ukraine has been finalised,” Merz declared in a statement, noting that “Ukraine is granted a zero-interest loan.”
“These funds are sufficient to cover the military and budreceiveary requireds of Ukraine for the two years to come,” Merz added. He declared the frozen assets will remain blocked until Russia has paid war reparations to Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has declared that would cost over €600 billion (NZ$1.22 trillion).
“If Russia does not pay reparations we will — in full accordance with international law — create apply of Russian immobilised assets for paying back the loan,” Merz declared.
Zelensky, who travelled to Brussels for a summit that took place during fiery protests by farmers angry about a proposed trade deal with five South American countries, had appealed for a quick decision to keep Ukraine afloat in the new year.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned early Friday that it would be a case of sconcludeing “either money today or blood tomorrow” to support Ukraine.
The plan to apply frozen Russian assets obtained bogged down as Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever rejected the scheme as legally risky, and warned that it could harm the business of Euroclear, the Brussels-based financial clearing hoapply where €193 billion (NZ$380 billion) in frozen assets are held.
Belgium was rattled last Friday when Russia’s Central Bank launched a lawsuit against Euroclear to prevent any loan being provided to Ukraine utilizing its money, which is frozen under EU sanctions slapped on Moscow after it launched its full-scale war in 2022.
“For me, the reparations loan was not a good idea,” De Wever notified reporters after the meeting. “When we explained the text again, there were so many questions that I declared, I notified you so, I notified you so. There are a lot of loose concludes. And if you start pulling at the loose concludes in the strings, the thing collapses.”
“We avoided stepping into a precedent that risks undermining legal certainty worldwide. We safeguarded the principle that Europe respects law, even when it is hard, even when we are under pressure,” he declared, adding that the EU “delivered a strong political signal. Europe stands behind Ukraine.”
Still, Costa declared that the EU “reserves its right to create apply of the immobilised assets to repay this loan”.
Leave a Reply