Ukraine and Japan sign $3 billion deal using frozen Russian assets
Photo: Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Ukraine and Japan have signed an agreement necessary to obtain a $3 billion loan. The loan will be covered by the proceeds from the frozen Russian assets, according to Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal.
The agreement was concluded under the Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration (ERA) initiative. On the part of Japan, the agreement was signed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
According to Shmyhal, the government will use $3 billion for priority budget expenditures to develop the economy and strengthen Ukraine.
"In total, Ukraine has already received $14.7 billion under the ERA. We continue to work on an international instrument that will allow us to confiscate all frozen Russian assets in favor of Ukraine," the Prime Minister added.
Frozen Russian assets
Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, frozen assets of the Central Bank of Russia worth almost €280 billion have been found abroad. Over two-thirds of them are in the European Union.
In the summer of 2024, the leaders of the G7 and the EU agreed to channel the proceeds of Russia's frozen assets to Ukraine.
In October of the same year, the G7 leaders agreed to a $50 billion loan to Ukraine to be repaid from the proceeds of frozen Russian assets.
The EU has repeatedly called for Russia's frozen assets or their proceeds to be used to purchase weapons for Ukraine. In particular, EU Chief Diplomat Kaja Kallas has made such proposals.
In December, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that one billion euros from the proceeds of Russia's frozen assets would be used to produce Ukrainian weapons.
