The European Union will allocate a €35 billion loan to Ukraine at the expense of the frozen assets of the Russian Federation.
This was stated by the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen during her visit to Kyiv.
"The relentless attacks of Russia mean that Ukraine needs further support from the EU. This is another major contribution to the recovery of Ukraine," said von der Leyen.
The loan will be provided within the limits of the commitments of the G7 countries — this is a larger part of the previously agreed loan of $50 billion.
In June, G7 leaders agreed to provide Ukraine with a $50 billion loan, which will be repaid with future revenues from frozen Russian assets. According to this plan, the EU and the USA will take on approximately $20 billion each, and the rest — $10 billion — will be divided among Great Britain, Japan and Canada.
However, the US, in order to ensure a steady flow of income to service the loan, wants guarantees that Russian assets, most of which are located in Europe, will remain frozen.
Therefore, the European Commission offers several options for extending sanctions on frozen Russian assets. In particular, it is proposed to extend the blocking of assets for another five years, subject to an annual review of these rules, or to extend EU sanctions from the current six-month period to 36 months. However, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who vetoed EU support for Ukraine in the past, is now blocking such an extension.
Frozen Russian assets
The value of frozen Russian sovereign assets in the EU is almost €211 billion. In total, the European Union, the G7 countries and Australia have frozen approximately €260 billion in securities and cash.
Ukraine has already received several tranches of aid from the EU proceeds from frozen Russian assets. And on June 24, the EU approved military aid to Ukraine from revenues from the assets of the Russian Federation.