Top E.U. Official Visits Ukraine to Offer Financial Reassurance

The European Union’s top official will meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine on Friday in Kyiv to reiterate Europe’s continued support for Ukraine, as talks between U.S.and European officials have stalled in recent days over the future of a $50 billion loan backed by frozen Russian assets.The visit by the official, Ursula von der Leyen, comes days before Mr.

Zelensky will travel to New York for the U.N.General Assembly, where he will present President Biden with a proposal to bring about the end of the war.In recent months, Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukrainian power and heating plants, creating a potentially dire situation for Ukraine as it heads into winter.Ms.

von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, said in a statement on Friday, that the bloc “will help Ukraine in its brave efforts to overcome this.” It was her eighth visit to Kyiv since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.Ms.von der Leyen said on Friday that the European Union would play its full part in the $50 billion in loans that were pledged to Ukraine in June by the United States and the other large Group of 7 economies, using Russian central bank assets that were frozen in 2022.

The loans would be repaid using interest earned from $300 billion in seized Russian funds, though there is a risk that falling rates could decrease the value of the returns on those assets....