Filenews 20 December 2025 - by Angelos Angelodimou
The European Union consists of 27 Member States. These do not include either Russia or Ukraine. However, the leaders of the member states, the European Commission and the government in London (albeit outside the EU) are demonstrating incredible zeal for involvement in the Russian-Ukrainian war. In fact, Ukraine's financial, military and technological support is unprecedented.
"We cannot be on the side of the aggressor," they say. "We will not allow Europe's borders to change," they also say. "We will be on the right side of history," they argue. All this is accepted. To be on whichever side they wish, we will not judge it.
The consistency factor
Of course, they would be credible, if they were also consistent with their declarations and the positions of principles they invoke. And if they did it with their own money and not with other people's money. Cyprus - an EU member state, let us remind you - has never had such support. We have not heard about the right side of history, nor about the side of the aggressor, nor of course about military support.
Another example? When Serbia in 1999 was bombed by NATO for 78 days - also a European country although it is not a member of the EU - there was no reaction from the EU. Nor did we see such courage not to change the European borders. Let us remind you that after this particular war, the secession of Kosovo occurred and the installation of one of the largest US bases, in the heart of Europe.
Unprecedented funding
Let's also come to the part of financing Ukraine. On Friday morning, after a session that lasted 16 hours, the EU decided to proceed with the issuance of 90 billion euros of Eurobonds to finance Ukraine over the next two years.
As mentioned, the decision is undoubtedly a defeat for German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, as well as the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who refused to issue Eurobonds to financially support Kiev, but called for the direct use of frozen Russian deposits.
"In the end, it will be European taxpayers, not Russian assets, that will ensure that Ukraine can continue to fight on the front line," European diplomats told Naftemporiki.
Frozen funds and sanctions
It is recalled that Russian assets were frozen as a result of Western sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The move was intended to constrain Russia economically and ensure that it could not use this money to finance the war.
Frozen assets are financial funds or assets that the owner cannot access or use for any transaction or transfer, due to restrictions imposed by a government – or a union of states, such as the EU.
Out of about €300 billion in frozen assets, around €210 billion are in EU member states. The rest are scattered across the US, Japan, UK, Switzerland and Canada. But most of it – €180 billion – is in an institution called Euroclear, in Belgium.
According to the European Commission, since February 2022 the EU has banned the export of more than €48 billion worth of products and technologies to Russia and the import of more than €91.2 billion worth of products from Russia. This means that, compared to 2021 export and import volumes, 54% of exports and 58% of imports are currently subject to an embargo.
As of October 2025, EU countries had adopted a total of 19 packages of sanctions against Russia for the war against Ukraine. The last included a gradual ban on imports of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG). The package "also targeted Russian banks, cryptocurrency exchanges, entities in India and China, among others," EU Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas said in a post on X.
Where is the US?
But how does the US position itself on this particular military conflict? As it turns out, new US-Russia talks were expected to take place in Miami, Florida, over the weekend, according to a White House official. The negotiations are part of ongoing efforts to find a solution to the conflict that has now lasted more than two years.
At the same time, the US is reportedly preparing a new round of sanctions against Russia's energy sector in order to increase pressure on Moscow in the event that President Vladimir Putin rejects a peace deal with Ukraine, as reported by Bloomberg News. In particular, the US is considering options such as targeting ships belonging to the so-called Russian shadow tanker fleet used to transport Moscow's oil, and economic factors that facilitate transactions, the publication states.
It is obvious that US decisions are guided by the goal of cutting off Russia's energy resources to EU countries. Not to hurt Russia itself, but to replace Russian oil and gas with American oil. After all, while the decisions are being made, President Trump is talking to Putin about reaching a peace agreement in Ukraine and possibly sharing Ukraine's rare earths between the US and Russia.
In conclusion
On 16 December, Sky News reported: "There is a growing risk that Russia will attack the UK and the nation's 'sons and daughters' must be ready to fight, the head of the British armed forces said.
In an extremely blunt intervention, the Chief of the Air Force Sir Richard Knighton warned that Russia's military power is growing and is something to be feared, with Russian troops now hardened in the fighting, having waged a full-scale war in Ukraine for the past almost four years."
This attempt to demonise Russia by European countries, and the conscious preparation being made to convince European citizens that this country is a threat and we must be prepared for war, is unprecedented. Of course, Britain or another European country getting involved in a war with Russia is a remote possibility. Not because the outcome is extremely uncertain, but because the next day this happens, it is most likely that European financial markets will collapse and the impact on the economy will be incalculable.
In conclusion, whether Russia is the one to blame for the developments in Ukraine is something that can be analyzed in another chapter. However, the inconsistency of words and actions of the countries of Europe on matters of principle is something that cannot be ignored. Whether all this is happening because the EU wants to get its hands on Ukraine's wealth is also a possibility that cannot be ruled out. However, the billions spent on supporting Ukraine – unlike what has been done in the case of Cyprus and Serbia – and combined with the fact that all this money could be used to support European citizens, while they are struggling to find work, satisfactory wages and affordable housing, is something that cannot escape criticism.
And European companies are losing the game against their American and Chinese counterparts, since they have lagged behind in terms of competitiveness and technology development.
