EU member states have officially adopted a plan to use the proceeds from assets of the Russian Central Bank, frozen in the EU, to invest in the defense of Ukraine, Reuters reported, citing the Belgian government, BTA reports.
EU ministers agreed "to use extraordinary revenues from frozen Russian assets to support the defense and reconstruction of Ukraine in the context of Russian aggression," said the profile in "X" of the Belgian government, which presides over the negotiations between the EU countries in Brussels.
The text had only to receive the formal approval of the ministers, after the agreement on this was already concluded at the beginning of the month. According to the deal, 90% of the assets will be transferred to an EU-managed fund for military aid to Ukraine, with the remaining 10% earmarked for providing assistance to Kiev in other ways.
The EU expects the assets to bring a profit of around 15-20 billion euros by 2027. Ukraine is expected to receive the first aid package in July, European diplomats said.
The G7 countries froze about $300 billion in Russian assets shortly after Moscow invaded in 2022. Since then, the EU and other G7 countries have been debating how and whether to use the funds to help Ukraine.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen pressed the rest of the G7 countries this week to agree on a plan to use the funds to lend more money to Ukraine.