Europe Finally Trusts Itself Enough to Act

Turning Frozen Russian Money Into Europe’s War Engine

For a change, the rumours came true — and fast. Less than 24 hours after whispers began circulating that France, Germany, and the United Kingdom had reached an agreement to move frozen Russian assets to Ukraine, Downing Street made it official.

“We will increase pressure on Russia as President Putin continues his stalling tactics and abhorrent attacks in response to peace talks.

To that end, we are ready to progress — in a coordinated way — toward using the value of the immobilized Russian sovereign assets to support Ukraine’s armed forces and thus bring Russia to the negotiation table. We aim to do this in close cooperation with the United States of America.”

At first glance, it sounds cautious — maybe even evasive. You can almost hear the bureaucracy breathing through the commas. But if we stop there, we miss the point. The real story isn’t the language; it’s the movement — how Europe got here, and what it means that it finally did.

The Biden administration was, from the start, firmly in favor of using frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine. The obstacle lay in Europe — especially in Paris and Berlin. Both governments balked, worried about the credibility of their own financial…