ALSO SEE: EU Leaders Will Loan 90 Billion Euros to Ukraine, but Fail to Agree to Use Frozen Russian Assets

European Union officials wanted to use Russia’s frozen assets to back a major loan to Ukraine. Facing opposition in their own camp, they settled on another way.

European leaders agreed early on Friday morning to keep Ukraine funded for two years with a loan of 90 billion euros, or about $105 billion, though they failed to agree on their first-choice option of using Russian state assets frozen on the continent as backing for the loan.

That ambitious frozen-asset plan was killed at the 11th hour as European heads of state and government met in Brussels — a show of division that risked making the European Union appear indecisive at a key moment.

Instead, European leaders announced that they will funnel money to Ukraine with a loan backed by the E.U. budget. Because the plan does not leverage the large stash of Russian savings immobilized in Europe, it is likely to cost more and could prove more difficult to quickly scale up than the original idea.

But because it will still get needed cash to Kyiv, officials celebrated it as a win.

“This will address the urgent financial needs of Ukraine,” Antonio Costa, the president of the European Council, said at an early morning news conference in Brussels.

He added that the European Union would reserve its option to eventually use Russia’s immobilized assets. European nations took action last week to freeze those savings indefinitely.

The funding plan comes at a crucial moment, as Ukraine negotiates potential peace terms with the United States. And timing was important, with Ukraine expected to begin running out of money early in 2026.