EU to invest profits from frozen Russian assets in Ukraine’s defense | War in Ukraine

It is estimated at around 2.5 to 3 billion euros per year. It only concerns the interest and dividends generated by the Russian central bank’s assets.

The EU froze those assets when Russia invaded Ukraine two years ago. This means that Russia cannot access these assets, but they have not been seized either.

The “agreement in principle” that negotiators reached on Wednesday must still be ratified by the Council of Ministers of the EU countries in the coming days. That has sometimes gone wrong lately. Countries such as Hungary, the most Russian-friendly EU member state, sometimes change their minds.

The EU member states have long believed that the proceeds should benefit Ukraine. They first wanted to invest in the reconstruction of the country, but Ukraine is so desperate for weapons and ammunition that that is now taking precedence.

Ukraine has recently been suffering losses in the fight against Russia. The country has a shortage of weapons and ammunition. The EU has been unable to supply ammunition on the scale that Brussels had promised. It also took a long time before the American Congress agreed to a new support package.

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At the previous European summit in March, the member states did not yet reach an agreement. However, they became more and more on the same page. The government leaders agreed that the European Commission would further develop the plan.

Austria and Hungary, among others, still had difficulty with the plan. To accommodate these member states, it has been agreed not to put all the money into the purchase of weapons. That is why 10 percent is used for reconstruction or humanitarian aid.

Russia previously said it would retaliate if the country’s frozen foreign assets are seized. “We also have frozen assets, which are no less than the West has,” Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said in an interview with the state news service RIA Novosti.