EU leaders Thursday tasked the European Commission to move ahead with options for funding Ukraine for two more years, leaving the door open for a mammoth loan using frozen Russian assets.The EU froze some 200 billion euros of Russian central bank assets after Moscow's tanks rolled into Ukraine,

A series of explosions were reported overnight on Oct. 23 in the Russian city of Ryazan, with local residents suggesting a drone strike may have targeted the Ryazan Oil Refinery, one of Russia’s key fuel infrastructure facilities.

It appears that European leaders have found a way to access Russian frozen assets to pay Ukraine for war reparations. Details are being worked out without the the U.S.

The US has imposed sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies as it called on Moscow to agree to an immediate ceasefire in its war with Ukraine.

European Union officials could reach a political agreement as soon as Thursday on a plan for a huge loan to Ukraine backed by Kremlin money frozen in a Belgian financial institution.

The European Union is close to finalizing a plan that would use $245 billion in frozen Russian assets to help finance Ukraine's defense efforts during the ongoing war.