The European Union views Russia’s conflict as a direct challenge to its own security and is determined to ensure Ukraine remains supported both financially and militarily.

Several EU leaders ‌arriving at the summit said they needed to find a solution. They were also keen to show European countries’ strength and resolve after US President Donald Trump last week called them “weak”.

Tusk said leaders agreed that they should work on a loan rather than other options, but stressed that they had many hours of increasingly technical discussions ahead of them.

‘Morally justified’

“The decision now on the table — the decision to fully use Russian assets to defend against Russian aggression — is one of the clearest and most morally justified decisions that could ever be made,” he said.

Russia’s central bank has said the EU plans to use its assets are illegal. It filed a lawsuit in Moscow this week seeking US$230 billion ($348 billion) in damages from ‍clearing house Euroclear.