British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has declared a new £70 million (about $96 million) military aid package for Ukraine. For the first time, London will finance the aid with interest on frozen Russian assets.
Politico and The Guardian write about this.
London will send 350 ASRAAM air defense missiles, originally designed as air-to-air missiles and upgraded within three months to be ground-launched. The package is part of a wider £4.5 billion (over $6 billion) military aid initiative for Ukraine.
The missiles will be used with the British-supplied Raven systems. Five of these systems are already on their way to Ukraine, bringing the total to 13.
"Russia, not Ukraine, should pay for Putinʼs illegal war. Using Russian assets to strengthen Ukraineʼs air defenses is our right. Ukraineʼs security is critically important to us," Keir Starmer said at the NATO summit.
Defence Secretary John Healy stressed that these missiles would save lives, demonstrating the ability of British industry to adapt to the demands of modern warfare.
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.
On October 23, the EU Council finally approved a loan of up to €35 billion to Ukraine. The money is the blocʼs contribution to the G7 initiative to provide Ukraine with a $50 billion (€45 billion) loan, which will be repaid with the proceeds from frozen Russian assets.
And on October 26, the G7 countries agreed on a $50 billion loan for Ukraine using proceeds from Russiaʼs frozen assets. The US contribution is $20 billion.
The money will be transferred “through various channels” — both to replenish the Ukrainian budget, and for military assistance and the restoration of Ukraine’s infrastructure. Reuters notes that Ukraine will receive all the funds under the loan by the end of 2027.
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