EU states approve $38b loan for Ukraine

BRUSSELS — EU states on Wednesday approved a plan to give Ukraine up to 35 billion euros ($38 billion) as part of the bloc's share in a larger planned loan from the G7 nations backed by frozen Russian assets, diplomats said.

Kyiv is desperate for funds as it seeks to prop up its economy, equip its military and keep its electricity grid functioning this winter after intense fighting with Russia.

The EU's loan, which was signed off by a majority of ambassadors at a meeting in Brussels, is part of a bigger $50 billion initiative agreed by G7 powers in June.

The bloc is the first of the G7 powers to announce how much it is putting forward as its share of the plan and is still waiting for others to do their part.

EU officials said the size of the bloc's loan was up to 35 billion euros, but could decrease if other G7 members decided to contribute more.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and NATO chief Mark Rutte in London on Thursday, as he embarked on a whistle-stop tour of European capitals aimed at securing military aid.

Starmer told Rutte during the trilateral meeting that he and Zelensky had been discussing Ukraine's "plan for victory" in its fight with Russia.

Zelensky said his country desperately needs more aid to tip the balance of the conflict and secure victory on the battlefield as Russia captures dozens of small towns in the east.

On the ground, questions are growing among Ukrainian soldiers about the long-term strategy of the offensive into Russia's Kursk region, given Russia's push in the eastern front.

"If this is a short-term operation, it will strengthen us," Bogdan, a serviceman sitting at a cafe in Druzhkivka, near Kramatorsk, told AFP.

"If it's a long-term operation and we plan to stay in Kursk, it will deplete our main resources."

Agencies via Xinhua