UK Ambassador tells how Ukraine to spend almost £2.3 billion from Russian assets
British Ambassador Martin Harris (photo: Vitalii Nosach / RBC-Ukraine)
The UK has announced a significant aid package for Ukraine. The new support for Ukraine is based on the principle that Russia must pay, says UK Ambassador to Ukraine Martin Harris.
“Today I want to say that there is new support for Ukraine, based on the basic principle that Russia has to pay. Today, the UK government announced a new loan to Ukraine of £2.26 billion, which corresponds to $3 billion, to be secured by the proceeds of Russian frozen assets. Ukraine is not paying for this loan, Russia is,” Harris says.
According to him, these funds will be directed to the military budget of Ukraine. This means that Ukraine will have more air defense systems, and more guns, and through this mechanism, Russia is indirectly paying for the defense of Ukraine, for new opportunities for the Armed Forces.
“This is the UK contribution, but we are also waiting for similar decisions from all our partners in the G7, and the total amount of such assistance for Ukraine will be 50 billion US dollars. So this is a huge support for the next year to strengthen Ukraine's position and to use the principle that Russia has to pay,” he emphasizes.
Read and watch the full interview with Ambassador Harris - about ending the war, Zelenskyy's victory plan, joining NATO, and UK aid to Ukraine - soon on RBC-Ukraine.
$50 billion to Ukraine
In June, the G7 leaders decided to provide Ukraine with a $50 billion loan to be repaid from the proceeds of frozen Russian assets. The terms of the loan, including the distribution of contributions among the G7 countries, are currently being finalized.
In July, the Finance Ministers of the G7 countries discussed the issue of providing Ukraine with a $50 billion loan. The plan was to use the proceeds from frozen Russian assets. According to the final communiqué, the funds are to be transferred to Ukraine by the end of this year. However, the details of the loan have not yet been agreed upon.
On September 20, during her visit to Kyiv, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a €35 billion loan as part of the G7 commitments.
Finally, today, on October 22, the UK government, the first of the G7 countries, announced its contribution, equivalent to almost $3 billion, which will be compensated from the frozen assets of the Russian Federation.
