The European Union has sent 1,5 billion euros in aid to Ukraine, financed by revenues from Russian assets frozen in the EU, which will be spent on defense and reconstruction, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on July 26 on the X social network.
"Today we are transferring 1,5 billion euros of proceeds from immobilized Russian assets for the defense and reconstruction of Ukraine. There is no better symbol or use for the Kremlin's money than to make Ukraine and all of Europe a safer place to live," said von der Leyen.
Prime Minister of Ukraine Denis Shmyhal welcomed the first EU transfer.
"This significant contribution to the defense and reconstruction of Ukraine," he announced on Xu.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia "will carefully consider how to respond."
EU foreign ministers approved the payments at the end of June.
The aid is financed by income from assets such as interest, but not by the underlying assets themselves, which remain frozen. Ninety percent of the money will be financed as part of military aid, while ten percent will go directly to Ukraine as financial aid, writes Reuters.
About 260 billion euros worth of Russian assets, such as Central Bank reserves, have been frozen as part of sanctions imposed on Russia over the war in Ukraine.
The largest share of Russian reserves, mainly stocks and other types of securities invested in by the Russian Central Bank, is kept in a Brussels-based depository called Euroclear.
When those funds reach their final payout days, or "ripen," in banking parlance, they are converted to cash.
Group of Seven (G7) leaders agreed at a June summit in Italy to use interest from Russian assets frozen in the West to secure a $50 billion loan to Ukraine.
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