Ukraine receives €1 bln from frozen Russian assets
Photo: Denys Shmyhal, Prime Minister of Ukraine (Vitalii Nosach/RBC-Ukraine)
Ukraine received €1 billion ($1.13 billion) from the European Union (EU) under the ERA program. The Prime Minister of Ukraine, Denys Shmyhal, states the funds were secured from the profits generated by the frozen assets of the Central Bank of Russia.
According to Shmyhal, this tranche is part of a fair approach in which Russia is obligated to pay for the destruction it has caused in Ukraine.
The EU funds will be directed toward:
- covering critically important budget expenditures;
- strengthening Ukraine.
“We are grateful to the EU and G7 partners for an effective mechanism. We look forward to the next step — full confiscation of the assets and tougher sanctions in response to Russia's atrocities,” added the Ukrainian Prime Minister.
Frozen Russian assets
Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Western countries froze around $300 billion in assets belonging to the Central Bank of Russia. Most of these assets are held in the European Union, particularly in the Belgian Euroclear. The rest are located in the United States, Japan, and other G7 countries.
The assets remain frozen, and G7 countries have repeatedly stated that they will not be unblocked until Russia compensates Ukraine for the damages it has caused. Meanwhile, the EU has already begun using the profits from these assets.
Recently, Shmyhal announced that Japan would provide Ukraine with $3 billion sourced from Russian assets.
