European Union member states have agreed “in principle” to provide Ukraine with additional aid totalling up to 3 billion euros annually for arms and ammunition. Interest earned by frozen Russian central bank assets now held in the bloc would underwrite the proposed deal.
The agreement follows weeks of intense negotiations among the 27 EU member states. It was announced by Belgium, which has served as a repository for most of the frozen Russian assets. Stringent financial limits limiting the use of such funds added to the complexity of the negotiations.
Once finalised, the deal should free up to 3 billion euros a year for Kyiv, of which 90% could be spent on ammunition and other military equipment. According to officials, the first installment of the funds could reach Kyiv in July.
Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Moscow central bank assets worth 210 billion euros have been sitting frozen within the bloc, most of which are held in the Euroclear depositary in Belgium. Kyiv has been urging the use of those funds to provide it with the vital military supplies it needs to withstand Russian attacks.
Member state ambassadors participating in a regular session of the European Council agreed “in principle” on the proposed deal in talks chaired by Belgium. Since a small group of member states, notably Hungary, have been refusing to supply weapons to Ukraine, special safeguards had to be built into the deal to ensure that 10% of the funds could be considered as general aid.
The plan comes as Ukraine looks to bolster its faltering military campaign with the 89 billion euros the US Congress recently agreed to provide.
In order for the proposed deal to come into effect, EU member states must now officially endorse the tentative agreement.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian ministers are urging the EU to confiscate all the Moscow assets it holds, and not just the accrued interest payments, to ensure that Russia, the aggressor, pays for the cost of the war.
