A key question is on the table at today's EU summit in Brussels: should the EU grant Ukraine a loan for tens of billions of euros guaranteed by frozen Russian assets? If the proposal goes through, Russia would formally retain ownership of the funds, but its access to them would be permanently blocked. Any attempts by Moscow to claim the assets - most of which are held by the financial institution Euroclear in Belgium - would only be accepted if it agreed to pay war reparations.

Italy has become the EU second member state after France to voice doubts about the EU Commission's plans to sign the Mercosur trade agreement on Saturday. The deal is "premature", Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Wednesday. Commentators also observe that the opposition to the free trade agreement has byo means been overcome despite safeguard clauses for agricultural products.

US President Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit for 10 billion dollars in damages against the BBC. He accuses the British broadcaster of editing a documentary about the storming of the Capitol to portray him in a false and malicious way. The BBC has announced that it intends to defend itself.

Belarus's authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko released 123 political prisoners on Saturday and expelled them from the country. Among those pardoned were civil rights activist Maria Kolesnikova, former presidential candidate Viktor Babaryko and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Beliatski. The move came after the US announced it was lifting its sanctions against the Belarusian potash industry.