Europe provides 3 billion euros to Ukraine from frozen Russian assets

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Friday that the European Union has disbursed a first payment of three billion euros to Ukraine.
This comes within the framework of a loan financed by Russian assets frozen in Europe.

Europe’s support for Ukraine

“Today we disbursed three billion euros to Ukraine, the first installment from the European Union under the loan decided upon by the G7,” von der Leyen wrote on her X account.
After months of negotiations, the G7 leaders reached an agreement last October to use the interest generated by Russian sovereign assets frozen in their countries as a result of international sanctions, to guarantee a loan worth $50 billion to Ukraine.

The European Union’s share amounts to more than 18 billion euros, while von der Leyen confirmed that this money “will provide Ukraine with the financial ability to continue the struggle for its freedom and achieve victory.”

Freezing Russian assets

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the European Union decided to freeze Russian assets, private and owned by the Russian Central Bank, in European Union countries, which total about 235 billion euros.
This is not the first time that the European Union has used frozen Russian assets to finance its aid to Ukraine.
Last July, it was paid 1.5 billion euros using the interest generated by these assets, before the G7 decided on this loan amounting to 50 billion dollars.