The European Union’s top official said on a trip to Kyiv on Friday that Europe would offer Ukraine a loan of 35 billion euros, about $39 billion, backed by frozen Russian assets. European leaders said the loan would move forward initially without contributions from the United States, after talks between American and European officials stalled in recent days.

The official, Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, met with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine to reiterate Europe’s continued support for his country. Her trip came days before Mr. Zelensky was expected to travel to New York for the United Nations General Assembly.

There, he will present President Biden with a proposal, which has not yet been made public, to bring about the end of Russia’s war in Ukraine. He will also meet with the two candidates seeking to replace Mr. Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald J. Trump.

The loan announced on Friday, which would provide Ukraine with a needed infusion of funds without increasing direct aid from the budgets of European countries, is smaller than the $50 billion that the United States and other large Group of 7 economies agreed to provide in June. Washington had intended to contribute $20 billion to $25 billion to the loan, but only under conditions that would have barred an E.U. review of sanctions against Russia for three years.

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Still, the loan announcement will be a relief to Kyiv, which is running out of money for acquiring weapons and for rebuilding damaged energy infrastructure as it heads into another winter at war.

At a news conference with Mr. Zelensky, Ms. von der Leyen said, “We should make Russia pay for the destruction it has caused.” The trip to Kyiv was her eighth visit to the Ukrainian capital since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

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