Moscow says 'law and common sense prevail' in EU Ukraine deal

Russia has reacted positively to a compromise reached by EU member states on financing Ukraine.

"Law and common sense have prevailed for now," Russian chief negotiator Kirill Dmitriev wrote Friday on the messaging platform Telegram.

He described the decision taken in Brussels as a "fatal blow" to what he called "the warmongers," naming European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

"A few voices of reason within the EU have so far prevented Russian reserves from being illegally used to finance Ukraine," Dmitriev wrote.

Russia has repeatedly warned against what it has described as the "theft" of its state assets and has threatened to respond by using Western funds – particularly those belonging to private investors and companies – for its own purposes.

Writing on social media platform X, Dmitriev said von der Leyen, Merz and Starmer had failed.

"The whole world just watched you fail to bully others into breaking the law," he said.

After months of dispute, EU member states agreed early Friday on a compromise to finance Ukraine for the next two years.

Under the deal, Ukraine will receive an interest-free loan of €90 billion ($105.5 billion). If Russia does not pay compensation for war damage, frozen Russian assets in the EU are to be used to repay the loan.

Merz had initially sought to use Russian central bank funds frozen mainly in Belgium to provide loans of up to €210 billion. The plan ultimately failed, however, due to opposition from countries including France and Italy, after Belgium in particular raised major legal and political concerns.