Merz to advocate use of frozen Russian assets at EU summit

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz delivers a government declaration on the upcoming European Council meeting in Berlin, Germany, October 16, 2025. (REUTERS)
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Updated 16 October 2025
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Merz to advocate use of frozen Russian assets at EU summit

  • Merz first advocated for an interest-free EU loan backed by the frozen assets in late September

BERLIN: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Thursday he would call for the European Union to use Russian assets frozen in the West to provide a 140 billion euro ($163 billion) loan to Ukraine to finance its war effort at the upcoming EU summit.
Merz first advocated for an interest-free EU loan backed by the frozen assets in late September.
“We do not want to do this in order to prolong the war, but to end it,” Merz said in a speech to the Bundestag lower house of parliament.
“(Russian President Vladimir) Putin must realize that our support for Ukraine will not wane, but will grow, and that he cannot count on outlasting us.”


Kenyan prosecution welcomes detention of UK ex-soldier over woman’s murder

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Kenyan prosecution welcomes detention of UK ex-soldier over woman’s murder

Robert James Purkiss, 38, was remanded in custody by a judge after being arrested on Thursday
Purkiss is wanted in Kenya on suspicion of killing 21-year-old Agnes Wanjiru in 2012

NAIROBI: Kenya’s prosecution service on Saturday welcomed the detention of a British ex-soldier accused of murdering a woman in the east African country more than a decade ago.
Robert James Purkiss, 38, was remanded in custody by a judge after being arrested on Thursday, Britain’s National Crime Agency said in a statement.
Purkiss is wanted in Kenya on suspicion of killing 21-year-old Agnes Wanjiru in 2012, in a case that has caused diplomatic tensions between the two countries.
The body of the young mother was found in a septic tank two months after she reportedly went partying with British soldiers at a hotel in Nanyuki, a town in central Kenya where Britain has a permanent army garrison.
Kenya’s Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) welcomed the “significant development” in a statement on X, adding it was a result of an “extensive and coordinated effort” between the British and Kenyan authorities.
The ODPP “reiterates its unwavering commitment to pursuing justice for Agnes Wanjiru and her family, in collaboration with international partners, to ensure that those responsible are held fully accountable,” the statement added.
In September, a Nairobi High Court judge issued an arrest warrant for Purkiss, with local prosecutors saying extradition proceedings would be initiated to bring him before a Kenyan court.
Purkiss appeared in court on Friday, saying he did not consent to being extradited, the Press Association news agency reported.
The judge rejected his application for bail and ordered him to appear before the court again on November 14.