EU Council backs use of proceeds from frozen assets of Russian Central Bank to help Ukraine

The Council of the European Union has supported the use of proceeds from the frozen assets of the Russian Central Bank to help Ukraine.

This was announced by Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky.

He says that it is planned to withdraw 2.5 to 3 billion euros annually, of which 90% will be used for military purposes to arm the Ukrainian army.

We have approved in the EU using revenues from Russia’s central bank’s frozen assets to help Ukraine.

Up to €3B only this year, 90% goes for Ukraine’s military. Russia must pay for its war damages.

— Jan Lipavský (@JanLipavsky) May 21, 2024

Earlier, the Minister of Justice of Ukraine, Denis Malyuska, said that the amount of 3 billion is «almost nothing» compared to Ukraine’s needs. According to him, Ukraine needs «hundreds of billions» to win the war, but Malyuska called even 3 billion euros a «good first step.»

In April, it was reported that the Group of Seven (G7) was discussing the possibility of using frozen Russian assets worth almost 300 billion dollars as collateral for loans to Ukraine.