Envoys try to narrow gaps on a loan plan for Ukraine ahead of crunch EU summit

European Council President Antonio Costa, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (Omar Havana/AP)

European Union envoys worked to narrow gaps in a plan to use billions of dollars in frozen Russian assets as collateral for a massive loan to cover Ukraine’s economic and military needs, ahead of a crunch summit of EU leaders this week.

Almost four years into Russia’s full-scale war on Ukraine, the leaders have committed to funding Kyiv’s needs, which the International Monetary Fund puts at 135 billion euros (£118 billion).