The European Parliament passed a non-binding resolution Thursday urging member states to allow Ukraine to use Western weapons to fire at targets inside of Russia while toughening sanctions against Moscow and its supporters.

The resolution asked European Union countries to lift the restrictions so Ukraine can be more aggressive in defending itself against Russia. Many individual member states have been hesitant to lift such restrictions, fearing it could help spread the conflict throughout the continent.

The 425-131 vote with 63 abstentions, appeared to show an overwhelming approval to allow Ukraine to take a more offensive approach in the slow-moving war where Kyiv has tried to change its dynamic.

“Parliament underlines those insufficient deliveries of ammunition and restrictions on their use risk offsetting the impact of efforts made to date and deplores the declining volume of bilateral military aid to Ukraine by EU countries,” the Parliament said in the resolution.

“MEPs reiterate their call for member states to fulfill their March 2023 commitment to deliver one million rounds of ammunition, including Taurus missiles.”

The European Parliament also called for more sanctions against China, Iran and North Korea for helping Russia in its invasion of Ukraine. They also want Russia to be held accountable for its war crimes as part of any peace settlement.

In May, US President Joe Biden authorised Ukraine’s military to use American weapons for limited strikes against military targets in Russian territory for the first time after previously banning such activities with US-made weapons.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had earlier warned that such actions by the United States and the Western allies would constitute a widening of the war. The Biden administration, however, still bars Ukraine from mounting deeper strikes into Russia using US weapons like the Lockheed Martin long-range Army Tactical Missile System.

Malta’s Labour MEPs –  Alex Agius Saliba, Daniel Attard and Thomas Bajada – were amongst the four Socialist MEPs who voted against the resolution. Nationalist MEPs David Casa and Peter Agius abstained.

‘Russian missiles can reach US ally in three minutes’

Russia has issued a new warning against Ukraine’s allies, following recent calls to loosen restrictions on Kyiv’s Western-supplied weaponry. “The flight time of the Sarmat missile to Strasbourg is 3 minutes 20 seconds,” Russian politician Vyacheslav Volodin posted to Telegram on Thursday.

According to the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, the Russian Sarmat has a range of between 6,214 and 11,184 miles, putting the French city well within its reach.

Volodin, who has served as the Chair of Russia’s State Duma since 2016, was writing in response to the recent calls from the European Parliament to lift limitations on Ukraine’s use of Western-supplied weaponry within Russian territory and to speed up the delivery of arms to Kyiv.

“If something like this happens, Russia will give a tough response using more powerful weapons,” Volodin’s post continued. “What the European Parliament is calling for leads to a world war using nuclear weapons.”

Von der Leyen pledges Ukraine €160m in aid, energy support

Frozen Russian assets seized by the EU will be used to help provide 15 per cent of Ukraine’s energy needs ahead of the winter, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters on Thursday.

The EU is ready to send €100 million for repairing power plants and boosting renewables, offering around 2.5 Gigawatts of capacity, and a further €60m will go to humanitarian aid, shelters and power generators in Ukraine’s worst-affected regions, von der Leyen said. 

The Commission says it’s offered the country over €2 billion for energy security since Russia invaded in 2022, and that 80 per cent of Ukraine’s thermal plants and a third of hydropower capacity are now destroyed.

That follows repeated Russian attacks on critical infrastructure.

“It is only right that Russia pays for the destruction it caused. We know more is needed. We must keep transferring part of the proceeds from immobilised Russian assets to Ukraine’s energy resilience,” said von der Leyen, who meets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tomorrow in Kyiv.

Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, told reporters that the EU could aid its war-torn neighbour by stepping up electricity transmission “without compromising energy security in the bloc”.

The IEA has promoted building up natural gas storage and encouraging consumers to reduce energy consumption.

Moldova also depends on transit arrangements between Russia and Ukraine that expire at the end of this year, Birol added, implying significant uncertainty for Moldova’s electricity supply, and gas deliveries to Transnistria in particular.

While the EU remains broadly united in support for its eastern neighbour, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has questioned the impact of synchronising Ukraine with the EU electricity grid, a process completed in March 2022.

“Russia’s attacks against the Ukrainian grid have turned Ukraine into a significant net importer. This deficit is being met by EU countries. This is another cost that Russia’s devastating war is imposing on our economies,” said a letter Mitsotakis sent von der Leyen on September 13, noting that power prices per Megawatt-hour in Greece have more than doubled from €60 in April to €130 in August. “Similar increases were seen in Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, and other member states. This is a regional crisis,” the letter added. 

Thursday’s announcement came as member states intensified talks on a €46bn-loan for Ukraine, to be backed by the world’s seven major developed democracies using Russia’s immobilised assets as collateral.

EU countries given three options to raise €45 billion-loan for Ukraine

The European Commission has presented member states with three options to fulfil a the plan to support Ukraine’s army and economy in the battle against Russian forces.

The plan, provisionally sealed at the G7 summit in June, will use the immobilised assets of Russia’s Central Bank as collateral. The majority of them (€210 billion) are held in the 27-country bloc.

While allies cannot confiscate the money, they can use the interests they generate to ensure the loan is gradually re-paid, without footing the bill themselves.

But the unprecedented idea carries multiple financial risks, chief among them the possibility that these assets will be unfrozen before repayments are satisfied and allies will be held liable for default.

Under EU law, sanctions have to be extended every six months by unanimity, which means one single country could block the renewal and send the G7 plan up in flames. Hungary, in particular, has often derailed decisions in support of Ukraine and is currently preventing Brussels from releasing €6.5 billion in military assistance.

Several diplomats told Euronews that to avoid this scenario, and guarantee long-term predictability, the Commission proposed three different options during an ambassadors’ meeting on Friday.

Option one: freeze the assets for five years but with an annual review. In this case, a qualified majority would be needed to unfreeze the assets; Option two: renew the sanctions on the Russian assets every 36 months and the other sanctions on Russia every six months; Option three: renew all sanctions on Russia every 36 months.

The second option gathered the broadest amount of support, a diplomat said, even if member states are still awaiting specific details.

Friday’s presentation was done orally by Bjoern Seibert, chief of staff of President von der Leyen. A formal proposal is expected to be presented to member states in the coming days to kick start the negotiations, which could stretch for weeks.

In a first, EU transfers €1.5 billion to Ukraine using Russia’s frozen assets

The European Union has sent €1.5 billion to Ukraine using the extraordinary revenues obtained from the Russian Central Bank’s assets that remain immobilised as part of the bloc’s far-reaching sanctions.

Ninety per cent of the financial assistance will help Kyiv buy more weapons, ammunition and air defence systems, which the country urgently needs to repel the advances of invading troops in the east. The remaining 10 per cent will contribute to reconstruction efforts, particularly the energy infrastructure, badly damaged by relentless Russian strikes.

Brussels worries that the widespread destruction of Ukraine’s power grid could trigger a humanitarian crisis and a new migration exodus, come winter.

“The EU stands with Ukraine,” von der Leyen said on Friday. “There is no better symbol or use for the Kremlin’s money than to make Ukraine and all of Europe a safer place to live.”

The announcement marks the first money transfer under the novel scheme based on Russia’s immobilised assets, estimated to be around €210 billion across the bloc. The unprecedented project was many months in the making until member states reached an agreement on the legal texts in May.

Hungary, a vocal opponent of military aid to Ukraine, initially threatened to wield its veto and block the whole initiative. But last month, member states found a legal avenue to circumvent this obstacle, arguing Hungary had abstained from the May agreement and therefore lacked the right to participate in the following steps.

Back then, it was announced the first transfer would be worth €1.4 billion. On Friday, the amount was increased to €1.5 billion, likely due to the variations in interest rates.

The next transfer will take place in March 2025, the Commission said.

Crucially, the €1.5 billion will be wired directly into Ukraine’s budget. This differs from the previous military assistance the bloc has spearheaded under the European Peace Facility (EPF), which partially reimburses member states for the weaponry donated to Kyiv.

The EPF has been blocked by Hungary for more than a year, resulting in the paralysis of €6.5 billion and the exasperation of the other capitals. With hopes of a resolution all but lost, the EU has teamed up with the US to set up a $50 billion loan to Ukraine using the immbolised assets as collateral.

The Commission has proposed two options to square the circle and ensure greater predictability but discussions on the options are in the early stages and are expected to continue after the summer break. Once again, unanimity will be required.

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