BRUSSELS, Belgium, Nov 21, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Russia is looking to use the US proposals to end the war in Ukraine to stall sanctions from Washington and EU talks on using Moscow's frozen assets to fund Kyiv, the bloc's top diplomat said Friday.

"Today is supposed to be the day when the US sanctions against Russia will kick in. I hope we don't see today a decision that these sanctions are postponed, because then this is exactly what Russia wants," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said.

"Also what Russia wants is that we postpone the discussions regarding the reparations loan, that the frozen assets will not be used for the benefit of Ukraine," she told journalists.

"We should be very firm that we are not walking into these two traps."

Kyiv and its European backers have been left scrambling by a US plan to halt the war in Ukraine that appears to heavily favour Russia.

European leaders have backed Kyiv and said the war-torn country must be fully involved, after the US presented the plan that demands numerous concessions from Ukraine.

In a rare effort to pressure Moscow, US President Donald Trump last month announced sanctions against Russian oil majors Lukoil and Rosneft that are set to come into force later on Friday.

Those moves -- the most powerful by Trump against Russia over the Ukraine war -- have already seen major buyers of Russian oil scramble to find alternative suppliers.

The US proposals for Ukraine also come as the EU is discussing whether it can use some frozen Russian central bank assets to fund a new 140-billion-euro loan for Kyiv.

That proposal has so far been held up by Belgium -- where the majority of the assets are held -- over fears the subject could face legal reprisals from Moscow.

EU leaders were expected to try to strike a deal on how to keep vital funding flowing to Ukraine at a summit in December.