Polish PM tells EU leaders on Ukraine financing: "Either money today or blood tomorrow"

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has warned EU leaders that failure to agree on funding for Ukraine now could lead to bloodshed in Ukraine and across Europe.

Tusk said that not taking a decision on financing Ukraine could escalate the fighting.

"Now we have a simple choice: either money today or blood tomorrow. And I'm not talking about Ukraine only, I'm talking about Europe," Tusk said in Brussels ahead of a European Council meeting on Thursday.

Tusk stressed that "this is our decision to make – and only ours".

"I think all European leaders have to finally rise to this occasion. And this is all what I can say today, now," he added.

Zelenskyy said earlier that if the EU fails to agree upon a reparations loan for Ukraine, Putin will shun dialogue.

On Thursday, it became known that diplomats from European Union member states had reached a tentative agreement on using frozen Russian assets to provide Ukraine with a "reparations loan" in 2026-2027, but the final decision is to be taken by EU leaders at the European Council meeting.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said that today's EU summit must choose one of two options for financing Ukraine and that a decision will ultimately be taken.