EU leaders meet to try to keep Ukraine afloat
Newshour
BBC
4.2 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 18 December 2025
⏱️ 48 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Volodymyr Zelensky is urging European Union leaders gathered at a crunch summit in Brussels to loan billions of euros in frozen Russian money to fund Ukraine's military and economic needs.
But there's opposition from some countries fearful of Russian retribution. We'll have the latest.
Also in the programme: the Australian government announces new legislation to combat anti-semitism, following Sunday's mass shooting in Sydney; YouTube buys the TV rights to the Oscars; and ghosting in the jobs market - why are some companies advertising roles that probably don't exist?
(Photo shows Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky gives a press conference at the EU Council Summit in Brussels, Belgium, on 18 December 2025. Credit: Olivier Hoslet/EPA).
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts. |
| 0:09.6 | Hello and welcome to NewsAair from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:13.0 | We're coming to you live from London. |
| 0:14.8 | I'm James Menendez in a moment, the latest on those key talks on keeping Ukraine solvent. |
| 0:20.3 | That's our top story today. |
| 0:22.6 | Later in the program, the funerals have been held today of more victims from Sunday's mass shooting in Sydney. |
| 0:28.5 | We'll be hearing from Lena Chernik, whose niece Matilda was the youngest person to die in the attack on a Hanukkah celebration. |
| 0:37.0 | People like angry and people like want to done more and I want to be done more, but I don't |
| 0:42.3 | want to put anger. |
| 0:43.8 | I don't want to like, because it's a little kid, I want people like have not put anger in |
| 0:49.6 | their heart. |
| 0:50.5 | They put seed of happiness. |
| 0:52.5 | Take and put happiness for everyone, especially for people who have |
| 0:56.2 | kids. More from Australia in half an hour. But we are going to begin today in Brussels, because |
| 1:02.0 | it is crunch time for European Union leaders who've been arguing for months over whether to use |
| 1:07.1 | billions of dollars of frozen Russian assets to help keep Ukraine afloat. |
| 1:12.2 | The European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said leaders wouldn't leave their summit |
| 1:17.2 | without reaching some sort of agreement. |
| 1:20.3 | We have one ultimate goal in this European Council, and that is peace for Ukraine, peace with strength, |
| 1:30.7 | and for that Ukraine needs to have a secure funding for the next two years, the year 26 and 27. |
| 1:37.3 | Addressing the meeting, the Ukrainian president of Volodymyr Zelensky, warned of Russia's |
| 1:41.3 | continuing military buildup. |
... |
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