The leaders are to decide whether to loan tens of billions of euros in frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine's military and economic needs.

The European Union is on the precipice of a momentous decision on whether to use frozen Russian assets to finance more support for Ukraine. Critics argue the plan is legally questionable and risks retaliation by Moscow.

Polish prime minister Donald Tusk has warned that the European Union must choose between “money today or blood tomorrow” as EU leaders meet to vote on the use of £185bn of frozen Russian assets.

The European Council convenes on Thursday, and at stake is a contentious deal to back Ukraine and its war effort in 2026 and 2027.

The European Union is set to lock up Russia’s assets in Europe until Russia ends its war on Ukraine and compensates for the damage.

Finding a legal way to use frozen Russian assets to help finance Ukraine remains "far from easy", Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Wednesday, ahead of a summit of European Union leaders in Brussels.

The European Union has imposed sanctions on five businessmen linked to Russian oil companies Lukoil and Rosneft.

The Associated Press has documented 145 incidents in what Western officials say is a campaign of disruption across Europe masterminded by Russia since President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in

Leaders of eight easternmost European Union nations are gathering in Helsinki on Tuesday to plot a roadmap for how to secure as much funding as possible for building up defenses against Russia.

The European Union adopted fresh sanctions against Russian oil interests on Monday, targeting traders Murtaza Lakhani and Etibar Eyyub for helping Moscow to circumvent Western sanctions on crude exports that help to fund Russia's war in Ukraine.