EU approves plan to use the profits from frozen Russian assets

 European Union member states on Tuesday approved a plan to use the profits generated by frozen Russian sovereign assets to support Ukraine’s recovery and military defence. According to Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky, the move will provide Ukraine as much as €3 billion this year.

“Within the EU, today we decided to transfer the proceeds from the frozen assets of the Russian Central Bank to the benefit of Ukraine. For this year alone, it can be up to 74 billion crowns (€3 billion ). 90% of the proceeds will go to military support. Russia must pay for the damage done by its war of aggression,” Lipavsky wrote on X social media platform.

According to Luxemburg Times, about $280 billion (€257.55 billion) in assets have been immobilised by the Group of Seven nations since Russia’s 2022 war in Ukraine, with more than two-thirds of those held in the EU.

The vast majority of the funds has been held through the Belgium-based settlement giant Euroclear, where they have generated about €3.9 billion in net profit since last year.