Starmer, von der Leyen talk Ukraine plan, frozen assets
On 13 December 2025, the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, spoke by phone with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. According to the Downing Street readout, they focused on US‑led work to end Russia’s war in Ukraine and on the latest steps to mobilise frozen Russian sovereign assets. Both sides described this as a pivotal period and restated that Europe will support Ukraine until a just and lasting peace is achieved.
Let’s keep the language plain. A US‑led peace plan is a diplomatic framework Washington is promoting with European input to stop the fighting and set terms for a settlement. The UK and the EU keep stressing that any outcome must be fair to Ukraine and consistent with international law, which is why you’ll often hear phrases like ‘just’ and ‘lasting’ peace in official statements.
Quick definition: ‘frozen Russian sovereign assets’ are state funds-mainly the Central Bank of Russia’s reserves-immobilised under sanctions since 2022. European Parliament researchers estimate the EU holds about €210 billion of these assets, within a global total of roughly €260–300 billion. Much of the EU share is parked at the Belgian clearing house Euroclear, which is why Brussels features in every serious proposal.
What ‘mobilising’ means today is using the profits generated by those immobilised assets, rather than handing the principal to Kyiv overnight. In May 2024, the Council of the EU approved a legal route for transferring net windfall profits from these holdings to support Ukraine’s defence and reconstruction, with payments made twice a year. G7 partners have also built a loans scheme backed by those profits so Ukraine can receive funds up‑front while the legal debates continue.
Why not seize the money outright? Confiscating a state’s central‑bank assets raises difficult questions under international and European law, from sovereign immunity to property rights. That is why governments have moved first on profits, while continuing to explore whether and how the principal could lawfully be used as reparations for damage caused by Russia’s aggression.
The call also checked in on UK‑EU negotiations launched after the EU‑UK Leaders’ Summit in London on 19 May 2025. That meeting produced three texts: a Joint Statement, a Security and Defence Partnership, and a ‘Common Understanding’ that sets a renewed agenda for cooperation. One practical effect is that the UK can join certain joint defence procurements via the EU’s new SAFE instrument, which aims to speed up equipment purchases with up to €150 billion available.
Officials talk about ‘positive momentum’ because those May texts seeded work across security, energy, trade frictions and people‑to‑people links. Business groups, including the British Chambers of Commerce, have highlighted priorities such as smoother food exports for small firms, a youth mobility scheme to restore exchanges, and linking the UK and EU carbon trading systems. Final wording still needs to be negotiated, but those are the types of outcomes to look for.
If you’re teaching this, a short timeline helps. After the 2022 invasion, partners froze Russia’s central‑bank assets. In May 2024, the EU set rules to capture windfall profits on those funds. In December 2024, the G7 began disbursing loans backed by those profits. On 19 May 2025, the UK and EU agreed a refreshed agenda in London. On 13 December 2025, London and Brussels reviewed progress and next steps by phone.
What to watch next. On assets, look for those biannual profit transfers and decisions on how the money is split between defence, Ukraine’s budget and long‑term reconstruction. On the UK‑EU agenda, watch whether a youth mobility proposal is published, whether small food exporters get simpler paperwork, and how UK industry can bid into joint defence orders under the new partnership.
Media‑literacy tip. Government readouts are deliberately brief and rarely list disagreements. When you see phrases like ‘pivotal moment’ or ‘positive momentum’, pair them with the underlying documents-the EU Council’s decisions on asset profits, the EU‑UK joint texts from May-and ask what has actually changed in policy or funding since the last update.
Classroom prompt. Is using the profits from Russia’s frozen state assets a fair way to support Ukraine, or should governments pursue full confiscation as reparations? What risks would each route carry for the global financial system and future conflicts? Invite students to weigh legal principles alongside the moral case and Ukraine’s immediate needs.
The takeaway is that diplomacy moves in steps, not leaps. This call did not unveil a grand bargain, but it showed the UK and EU coordinating on a US‑led push for peace and on the financing tools that keep Ukraine supported. We’ll keep translating the documents-and the numbers-so you can follow what changes next.