Ukraine’s new war chest: frozen Russian funds?
FT News Briefing
Forhecz Topher
4.4 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 26 September 2025
⏱️ 13 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Oracle, private equity group Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi’s MGX will control roughly 45 per cent of TikTok USA, Germany’s chancellor has called for Europe to use frozen Russian assets to create new loan to finance Ukraine’s war effort, and a landmark trial finds former French president Nicolas Sarkozy guilty of criminal conspiracy. Plus, can a US bailout save Argentina’s president from deepening political problems?
Mentioned in this podcast:
TikTok US to be valued at $14bn after Trump’s deal, White House says
European officials fear Trump is preparing to blame them for Ukraine failure
Germany’s Merz backs using frozen Russian assets for Ukraine
Nicolas Sarkozy sentenced to 5 years in prison in Libya corruption trial
Can a US bailout save Argentina’s Javier Milei?
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Today’s FT News Briefing was produced by Persis Love, Victoria Craig, Katya Kumkova, Sonja Hutson, and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Blake Maples, Michael Lello and David da Silva. The FT’s acting co-head of audio is Topher Forhecz. The show’s theme music is by Metaphor Music.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | For over 40 years, Equinoor has been an energy partner to the UK. |
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| 0:22.4 | solutions has increased from 4% in 2020 to 27% in 2024. Find out more at equinor.com. |
| 0:32.0 | Good morning from the Financial Times. Today is Friday, September 26th. This is your FT News Briefing. The saga around |
| 0:39.7 | TikTok and the U.S. might be coming to an end, and Germany wants to use frozen Russian assets |
| 0:45.5 | to fund Ukraine's military. Plus, Argentina's markets have chilled out for now. I'm Mark |
| 0:52.7 | Filipino, and here's the news you need to start your day. |
| 1:06.4 | Donald Trump on Thursday ushered in a new and long-awaited era for social media juggernaut TikTok. |
| 1:12.0 | The U.S. president signed an executive order approving an agreement to split the app's U.S. operations from its Chinese parent company, bite dance. |
| 1:19.7 | It'll retain almost 20% ownership in the American entity. Software company Oracle, private equity group, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi's MGX will control nearly half. |
| 1:30.2 | Oracle will oversee the data and algorithm for security purposes. |
| 1:34.0 | People familiar with the matter told the FT that existing U.S. investors will also retain a stake in the business. |
| 1:39.9 | They'll be joined by a consortium of new investors, including Fox News owner, Rupert Murdoch. |
| 1:45.0 | Vice President J.D. Vance said TikTok US will be valued at $14 billion. |
| 1:55.0 | German Chancellor Friedrich Merritt is calling on the European Union to unlock billions of euros in a loan to Ukraine. |
| 2:04.2 | Those loans would go specifically toward military equipment. |
| 2:08.1 | Now, what is the source of this money? It seized Russian assets. |
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