Supplies are expected to resume in four days once the maintenance work is completed.

The demonstrations follow significant reconstruction progress since the catastrophic Storm Daniel floods of 2023, with residents framing the rally as both a political message and a show of resilience.

He did not want to discuss details of the peace settlement in a ‘megaphone’ format, but did indicate that who should recognize the current territorial situation in Ukraine will be discussed in the coming days.

Two diplomats said Ukraine could be asked to repay the initial bridging loan to the EU, once it has received funding from the long-term reparations loan. Another possibility would be a long-term solution involving a combination of the reparation loan and joint EU borrowing.

That would allow more time to set up the full reparations loan using the Russian assets in a way that Belgium can live with, to provide a longer term solution.

One option gaining support is for a “bridging” loan, financed by EU borrowing, to keep Ukraine afloat during the first months of 2026, according to four officials.

But despite intensive talks between Belgium and Commission in recent weeks, De Wever still has concerns about legal liabilities and the risk of retaliation from Moscow if the Russian funds were used for the loan.

“The next step is now that the Commission is ready to present a legal text,” von der Leyen told lawmakers in Strasbourg on Wednesday, without specifying when the document would be put forward.

EU diplomats expect European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to order her officials to present a draft legal text on the reparations loan within days as momentum grows for a solution.

European officials suggested Donald Trump’s new peace drive could help solidify support for the plan to use the frozen funds for a reparations loan. The cash would only become repayable to Moscow in the unlikely future scenario that Russia agrees to pay war damages, under the plan.

Now, with peace talks intensifying, and Kyiv running short of cash, the question of what to do with the Russian assets has taken on a new urgency. “If we don’t move, others will move before us,” said one EU official, granted anonymity like others cited here, to speak freely.

At a summit a month ago European Union leaders hoped to agree on a proposal to use Moscow’s immobilized reserves for a €140 billion “reparations loan” to Ukraine but the idea ran into fierce opposition from Bart De Wever, the prime minister of Belgium, where the money is held.

European countries are working on an emergency plan B to stop Ukraine running out of money early next year in case they cannot reach a deal on raiding Russia’s frozen assets to fund Kyiv’s war effort.

The American counterpart will mainly fill the ISR gaps of the Nigerian army with manned and/or unmanned aircrafts, and will likely (still unconfirmed) use the Kainji Air Base in Niger State as a launchpad.

— Brant Philip