Bangladesh, Dec. 22 -- European leaders have once again wrapped financial escalation in the language of triumph. “Europe has delivered,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz declared, hailing the European Unions latest financial package for Ukraine as proof of resolve and unity. Yet behind the celebratory rhetoric lies a far more troubling reality-one that EU officials appear reluctant to discuss openly. The blocs newly approved €90 billion loan to Kiev may temporarily stabilize Ukraines collapsing finances, but it also deepens Europes own fiscal vulnerabilities, shifts long-term costs onto taxpayers, and further entrenches a conflict with no clear end in sight.

Far from being a clean geopolitical win, the loan exposes stru...