PUBLISHED on August 12, 2025, 08:03 AM EDT – Key Points and Summary – In a significant move ahead of the Trump-Putin summit, the European Union has approved a $1.7 billion payment to Ukraine sourced from the profits of frozen Russian assets.
-The financial boost comes amid a stunning new report from The Daily Telegraph claiming President Zelenskyy has signaled to European leaders that while Ukraine will not cede currently held territory, land already under Russian control “could be on the table” in a peace deal.
-This potential major concession contrasts with President Trump’s own vow to try and get “territory back for Ukraine” during his upcoming meeting with Putin.
More Money for Ukraine and a Possible Peace Deal?
In something of a coup for Ukraine, heading into Russian President Vladimir Putin’s summit this Friday with President Donald Trump in Alaska, the European Union has agreed to unfreeze $1.7 billion (1.6 billion euro) payment from frozen Russian assets, in order to support Ukraine.
The money comes in the form of “ so-called windfall profits generated by the interest on the cash balances originating from immobilised assets of the Russian Central Bank, held by central securities depositories,” the EU said in a statement.
This is the third such payment the EU has received, following one tranche in July 2024 and another in April; the new one “covers revenues accumulated during the first half of 2025.”
“These windfall profits come from assets frozen under the EU sanctions imposed in response to Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine. While the assets themselves remain blocked, the interest on the cash balances can be used to support Ukraine,” the EU said.
Per United 24 Media, former Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that Ukraine has received “around $1.175 billion from the European Union’s share of profits on frozen Russian assets under the G7-led Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration (ERA) initiative, bringing total transfers for resilience and rapid reconstruction this year to over $18.5 billion.”
How the Ukraine War Could End…
Meanwhile, there was another big news story out of Brussels, involving Ukraine, on Monday. Per Joe Barnes, who is the Daily Telegraph’s Brussels correspondent, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told European leaders that while they must reject any settlement that comes out of the Friday meeting that requires Ukraine to give up territory it does not currently hold, “Ukrainian territory in Russia’s control could be on the table.”
That would entail, according to the report, “freezing the frontline” where it currently stands, without Russia gaining control of the territory that remains in Ukrainian hands, which Russia has previously demanded in negotiations.
“The plan can only be related to the current positions held by the militaries,” one Western official said, per the Telegraph.
The new development comes as some allies of Ukraine fear that Trump and Putin will agree on a “peace plan” over the heads of Ukraine, and then approach Ukraine to “take it or leave it.”
Trump, however, seemed to downplay that possibility when he spoke to the press on Monday, even declaring that he hopes to get back territory that Ukraine has lost on the battlefield.
“Russia’s occupied a big portion of Ukraine. They occupied prime territory. We’re going to try to get some of that territory back for Ukraine,” Trump said Monday, as reported by the BBC. He also characterized the upcoming sitdown with Putin as a “feel-out meeting,” rather than describing what he expects to lead to a final settlement.
Trump also said that he sees Putin and Zelenskyy meeting later, and also vowed to call the Ukrainian leader first after the Putin summit is over.
“I’ll call him first… I’ll call him after, and I may say, ‘lots of luck, keep fighting,’ or I may say, ‘we can make a deal’,” Trump said Monday.
Zelenskyy Speaks
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian leader spoke Monday about the state of the war.
“Today, there was a report from the intelligence and military command on what Putin is counting on and what he is actually preparing for, including military preparations,” Zelenskyy said in comments posted to X.
“He is definitely not preparing for a ceasefire or an end to the war. Putin is determined only to present a meeting with America as his personal victory and then continue acting exactly as before, applying the same pressure on Ukraine as before.”
The Ukrainian president’s social media accounts are filled with readouts of his recent calls with foreign leaders, and he does not appear to have addressed the Telegraph report about his agreeing to cede territory.
About the Author: Stephen Silver
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist, and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review, and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, national security, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
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bishnoi-noi
August 12, 2025 at 8:33 am
How the current pheckin’ bloody conflict in eastern Ukraine will turn in which direction will be known after this Friday (Aug 15 2025).
Will it produce a stalemate like the situation after jan-feb 2015, when all military offensives were stopped and replaced by trench potshot-taking warfare.
That’s NOT ACCEPTABLE anymore.
Will it produce an agreement to let everybody to FIGHT TO THE FINISH from now until Nov or December 2025.
That’s more like it.
Because once the nazi lynchpin in Donbass falls, the whole eastern frontline will collapse, and the way forward to the dnieper will become as unobstructed as a newborn baby’s bottom.