EU shelves plan to tap frozen Russian assets for Ukraine aid until December

European Union leaders in Brussels faced a storm of criticism after failing to finalize their heavily anticipated plan to use Russia’s frozen assets to fund Ukraine’s rebuilding and defense. Following an intense Council session, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and Council President António Costa admitted Thursday night that the “reparations loan” proposal had been shelved pending further legal and technical review — with a final decision now delayed until December.​ Watch for details