Europe’s hesitation over whether to use frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine’s defence exposes a deeper struggle between principle and prudence. After months of moral posturing and political pledges, the European Union has once again stepped back from the brink of bold action. Its leaders have promised to sustain Ukraine financially for two more years but stopped short of unlocking the billions in Russian assets sitting idle in European banks. The delay until December, couched as a need for “clarity,” reveals how the continent’s legal caution risks undermining its geopolitical purpose.

The debate over these frozen assets is not just about money, it is about accountability. Ukraine’s allies argue that Russia should, at the very least, pay for the destruction it has unleashed. The moral logic is unassailable: the aggressor should bear the cost of the aggression. Yet turning........

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