EU taps frozen Russian assets to arm Ukraine
"Today, the EU officially announced that it will provide almost 1.9 billion euros for military support for Ukraine," Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal reported on Friday on the X service. Of this amount, 1 billion euros will be earmarked for Ukrainian-made weapons.
The European Union is employing another tool to exert pressure on Russia. The Prime Minister of Ukraine stated at a joint conference with EU representatives that Brussels is giving the green light to use funds from frozen Russian assets (following the full-scale invasion in February 2022) for military support of Ukraine.
Frozen Russian assets for weapons for Ukraine. Decision has been made
"1 billion euros of this sum will be spent on the purchase of weapons directly from Ukrainian manufacturers. A further 600 million euros will be spent on artillery and ammunition. More than 200 million euros will be spent on strengthening Ukraine's air defence," wrote the head of the Ukrainian government on the X service.
He described the decision on using these assets for Kyiv as historic and thanked the European Union for its support. Shmyhal highlighted that the purchases of weapons and ammunition will be made through the EU project, the European Peace Facility.
European ministers met in Lviv on Friday to discuss, among other things, the structure and role of the tribunal concerning Russia's aggression against Ukraine and to officially support the decision to establish it. The tribunal is to function in Luxembourg under the auspices of the Council of Europe.
