At the European Council summit in Brussels, EU leaders are set to endorse a new package of sanctions against Russia at the same time as they are finalizing plans to use frozen Russian assets amounts to approximately $225 billion, mostly held in Belgium, to support Ukraine’s war and rebuilding budget expected to total $153 billion for 2026–2027. The summit highlights Europe’s dual approach to maintain economic pressure on Moscow while at the same time displaying long-term financial support for Kyiv amid a rising threat to the electrical grid in Ukraine due to increased winter offensives.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is present at the summit, showing Kyiv’s effort to secure enduring European support as U.S. policy becomes less reliable. European Council President Costa declared “support for Ukraine and pressure on Russia remain two necessary requirements to achieve just and lasting peace.” Some analysts have noted that Russia’s projected GDP growth conservatively at 1.5% in 2025, adding support to this economic overreach claim that is disorderly expansion of financing the war, exceeding 6% of its GDP.
At the same time, American President Donald Trump’s decision to cancel discussions with Vladimir Putin, stating that they were “a waste of time” is another sign of Washington’s evolving calculus in the context of new foreign policy premised on the electoral year. A group of nations, known as the “coalition of the willing,” now number over 30 countries and are led by the U.K., who will meet separately to reconfirm their allegiance to not making territorial concessions.
Similarly, EU nation-states are creating a European Defense Roadmap to prepare for potential aggression from Russia over the next 3-5 years. This plan suggests the necessity for coordinating defense spending, scaling up the arms industry, and increasingly countering hybrid threats and meddling. Taken all together, this suggests that strategic autonomy for Europe is increasingly arising from necessity rather than choice.
