Ukraine’s Crucial Week: U.S. Pushes Peace, EU Weighs War Reparations

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Round Table meeting room of the European Council summit, the EU leaders meeting at the headquarters of the European Union in Brussels, Belgium on October 17, 2024. The EU leaders will discuss the war in Ukraine, the conflict in the Middle East in addition to topics related to migration, competitiveness and foreign affairs. (Photo by Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images)NurPhoto via Getty ImagesOn December 16, the Associated Press and Euronews reported that Russia had launched drone strikes on civilian infrastructure in the Ukrainian cities of Zaporizhzhia and Odesa. Al Jazeera noted that at least 14 Ukrainian citizens were injured in Zaporizhzhia, while a warehouse containing household appliances in Odesa was damaged. The attack on these two cities came just three days after Russia launched a strike on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, an event that left over one million Ukrainian civilians without power.For nearly four years, the Russian Federation has conducted a full-scale military incursion into Ukraine.

The United Nations estimates that there have been over 53,000 civilian casualties in Ukraine since the start of the invasion in February 2022. One-fourth of Ukraine’s total population remains displaced, and several cities, villages, and towns have been damaged or destroyed. Due to the destruction caused by the war, the United Nations estimates that it will cost at least half a trillion dollars to rebuild Ukraine.Given this devastation, the international community has sought methods to bring an end to Russia’s military incursion into Ukraine. When the invasion began, dozens of countries around the world imposed economic sanctions on Russian businesses, government officials, and oligarchs. Russian assets were frozen, and over 1,000 companies suspended operations in the Russian Federation. Several Russian banks were removed from the international financial messaging system, known as SWIFT, and the Russian Federation was suspended from organizations such as the Council of Europe, the UN Human Rights Council, and FIFA. As the war progressed, the international community continued to implement new penalties to punish Russia for the war, where most recently, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union imposed sanctions on Russia’s top energy companies in October. Finally, more than 80 countries worldwide have provided defense, humanitarian, medical, and financial assistance to Ukraine. Despite these developments, Russia’s full-scale invasion continues.Realizing that economic penalties have not swayed Russia’s behavior to stop the war in Ukraine, the international community has approached the conflict from a different angle. One method, led by the United States, has been to hold diplomatic meetings with Russian and Ukrainian officials to discuss how the war might end. This attempt has been ongoing since February.TOPSHOT - (Front row L-R) Finland's President Alexander Stubb, Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, US special envoy Steve Witkoff, the US President's son-in-law Jared Kushner and Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, an (back row L-R) Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Netherland's Prime Minister Dick Schoof and Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson pose for a family photo on December 15, 2025 at the Chancellery in Berlin, where they meet for talks on how to end the grinding war of Russia with Ukraine. (Photo by Kay Nietfeld / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)POOL/AFP via Getty ImagesMORE FOR YOUU.S.

Seeks Peace For Russia-Ukraine War By Year’s EndNow, after several months of negotiations and with ongoing economic pressure on Russia, the war may be coming to an end. Since taking office in January, U.S.

President Donald Trump has made it a priority to achieve peace between Russia and Ukraine. This effort began in February, when senior American officials met with their Russian counterparts in Saudi Arabia. During this meeting, the two parties discussed Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, potential paths toward peace, and methods for ending the war. Following these discussions, American officials began to meet with their Ukrainian and European counterparts to discuss security and peace in Europe, where the Trump administration hoped these negotiations would lead to an end to Russia’s war.Attempts for peace have not been easy. In fact, negotiations have proved very challenging. According to UNITED24 Media, the United States and Ukraine have supported at least six ceasefire proposals since March. The first attempt was a 30-day pause on energy infrastructure attacks in Russia and Ukraine. While the Ukrainians agreed to the American proposal, news outlets such as Reuters and the Kyiv Independent reported that the Russian Federation had violated the ceasefire at least 30 times. Another ceasefire was then proposed in April during Passover and Easter, but the Russians launched missile and drone strikes across Ukraine several hours after the agreement was presented. Since then, Russia has refused additional ceasefires suggested by the United States. (The most recent example was on December 16, when the Kremlin rejected a Christmas ceasefire.)Despite these responses, U.S. representatives have continued to meet with their Russian counterparts, believing that a deal may still come to fruition. Now, after continued persistence, it appears the U.S. may be close to its objective of forcing an end to the Russia-Ukraine War. This week, U.S. officials gathered in Berlin to discuss a potential peace deal to Russian invasion of Ukraine with their Ukrainian counterparts, as well as representatives from the EU and NATO. For two days, they discussed legally binding security commitments from the West, such as a European reassurance force that would protect Ukraine’s seas and airspace, as well as operations within Ukraine. The current draft proposal also includes monitoring mechanisms to ensure that the ceasefire is not broken, and enforcement mechanisms should the agreement be violated. It adds that Ukraine’s military will consist of 800,000 soldiers in peacetime. Finally, the proposed agreement states that there will be investment opportunities in Ukraine.While the negotiations are not final, American, Ukrainian, EU, and NATO officials have stated that there has been progress in Berlin. For example, Trump has said that the peace deal is “closer than ever,” while Zelenskyy believes that the proposal to end the war “could be presented to Russia within days.” Additionally, the European Council issued a statement saying that European leaders “welcomed significant progress on President Trump’s efforts to secure a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.”But as the Americans, Ukrainians, and Europeans move forward on the peace proposal, the Russians have put forward their own demands. In its plan, the Russian Federation claims the entire Ukrainian provinces of Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces and volunteer battalions, however, still control large parts of these provinces. Additionally, the Ukrainian government has stated that it will not cede this Ukrainian-controlled land to Russia.The Russian Federation also opposes an international security force protecting Ukraine’s seas and airspace. Finally, the Russian Federation wants the West to stop providing defense assistance to Ukraine. These points are nonnegotiable by Ukraine.Should Russia reject the current peace proposal, it is unclear how the negotiations would proceed. Trump and his senior officials have attempted to reach an end to the war throughout 2025, and their continued actions of pushing for dialogue suggest that they want a quick end to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But if peace is not achieved by the end of this year, the U.S. may adopt a different strategy. At a forum in Qatar on December 7, Donald Trump Jr. stated that if the current peace negotiations fail, the U.S. could walk away from future negotiations with Ukraine. He also criticized U.S. assistance to Ukraine, arguing that the Europeans should provide more aid. This argument aligns with what senior officials in the Trump administration have said about the Russia-Ukraine War throughout 2025.A U.S. departure from Ukraine would be significant. According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, the United States provided €114.6 billion in defense, humanitarian, and financial assistance to Ukraine from February 2022 to February 2025. But since then, the Kiel Institute has reported that the U.S. has not provided additional assistance to Ukraine. This has placed additional pressure on Europe to provide aid to Ukraine. (The U.S. in 2025, however, has sold defense weapons to NATO members in Europe, which are then sent to Ukraine.)In other words, the progress of the peace proposal presented by the United States in Berlin will be critical for Ukraine this week. A U.S. departure from future negotiations could be costly.TOPSHOT - President of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, Dominique Hasler (C) opens the 133rd session of the Committee of Ministers at the European Council in Strasbourg eastern France, on May 17, 2024.

Liechtensteiner Dominique Hasler holds the Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe from November 2023 until May 2024, handing over to Lithuania's Ingrida Simonyte. (Photo by SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP) (Photo by SEBASTIEN BOZON/AFP via Getty Images)AFP via Getty ImagesEU Debates Using Russian Frozen Assets As War Reparations For UkraineGiven the significance and uncertainty of the U.S.-led negotiations in Europe this week, the EU has opted to explore a contingency plan for Ukraine. Faced with the challenge of offsetting the U.S. aid cut to Ukraine this year, the EU has floated a new approach to providing assistance. This is none other than using Russian frozen assets as a new form of aid to Ukraine.For several years, EU policymakers and legal experts have debated the legality of seizing Russian frozen assets to use them as reparations for Ukraine. Supporters of the proposal argue that the Russian Federation should be forced to pay for starting the war in Ukraine. The plan would also ease financial pressure on the EU as it provides assistance to Ukraine.To date, the Kiel Institute reports that the EU has provided €188.6 billion in defense, humanitarian, and financial assistance to Ukraine since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. If the EU approves the proposal to use Russian frozen assets to support Ukraine, it could unlock up to €210 billion in funding. That would more than double the EU’s contributions to Ukraine between February 2022 and December 2025.It would not be the first time a country has been forced to pay reparations for a war. For example, Germany was forced to pay reparations for its involvement in the First and Second World Wars. Similarly, Japan had to pay reparations to numerous countries across Asia as a result of its involvement in the Second World War.Now, after years of debate, the EU is close to finalizing a loan proposal for Ukraine. On December 12, the EU ruled to indefinitely freeze the €210 billion in Russian assets. The 27 EU members will now vote on December 18 to determine whether the €210 billion in Russian frozen assets can be used to aid Ukraine.“Let us not deceive ourselves,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned at a Brussels summit on Monday. “If [the EU] do[es] not succeed in [approving the Russian frozen assets loan], the European Union’s ability to act will be severely damaged for years, if not for a longer period. And we will show the world that, at such a crucial moment in our history, we are incapable of standing together and acting to defend our own political order on this European continent.”In other words, the EU’s gathering in Brussels this week to finalize the proposal for a loan using Russian frozen assets will be crucial for Ukraine. If the plan passes, it would help Ukraine fund current and future government programs. It would also provide Ukraine with the assistance it needs to purchase defense equipment to protect itself against Russia’s ongoing missile and drone strikes. (The European Commission estimates that the Ukrainian government will need more than €70 billion for these operations in 2026. The proposed EU loan plan would cover these costs.)Overall, this is a crucial week for Ukraine. The outcome of the current U.S.-led peace negotiations, as well as the EU’s vote on using Russian frozen assets as war reparations for Ukraine, will determine the future of the Russia-Ukraine War in 2025 and foreshadow what is to come at the start of 2026. Supporters of Ukraine will be anxious to see how these events will unfold in the coming days.