The Guardian view on funding Ukraine's resistance: a looming financial crisis in Kyiv must be averted | Editorial

"That money won't be coming from Washington, where Donald Trump has refused to seek new funding for military aid from Congress. Yet Kyiv's ability to negotiate an acceptable peace depends on its capacity to withstand Mr Putin's relentless war of attrition, which is designed to drain Ukraine of the resources necessary to resist, and to weaken the resolve of its European allies."

"The threat of a disastrous cash crunch by the spring, which could lead to a drying up of funds for basic social infrastructure as well as the military, is real. The risk of potentially catastrophic damage to morale, and Ukrainian bargaining power, is obvious. But until now, the urgency of the situation has not been matched by a swiftness of response in Brussels."

"After months of debate and wrangling at a European Council summit in October the idea of a 140bn reparations loan to Ukraine underwritten by frozen Russian assets has still to be agreed. If Belgian legal reservations the money is held in a Belgiumbased financial institution cannot be overcome, a possible alternative would involve EU member states raising the cash themselves through the issuance of common debt. That would be unpopular with the so-called frugal countries of northern Europe"

The EU and Ukraine need strengthened financial solidarity as Ukraine faces a shortfall of more than €70bn next year to continue its defence against Russia. The United States is unlikely to provide new military funding under the Trump administration, increasing reliance on European support. Kyiv’s capacity to negotiate an acceptable peace depends on sustaining military and economic resilience against a Russian war of attrition aimed at draining resources and weakening allied resolve. The IMF’s potential $8bn loan offer is contingent on EU commitments. A spring cash crunch risks social services, military readiness, morale and bargaining power, while legal and political obstacles slow proposals to use frozen Russian assets or common EU debt.

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