$1.5 billion in interest earned from immobilized funds are being used to aid Kiev, the bloc’s foreign-policy chief has announced
The EU has made its first transfer of interest earned on Russia’s frozen central bank assets to Ukraine and other states aiding Kiev, the bloc’s chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, announced on Thursday. A total of €1.4 billion ($1.5 billion) was transferred, he said.
Speaking to reporters ahead of a meeting with EU foreign ministers, Borrell called the development “good news” and said that the funds would be used for Kiev’s military needs and to finance Ukrainian industry.
“We have started using the revenues from windfall profits from frozen Russian assets. [They] have already been sent to Ukraine and sent to the member states who will provide with this money more military equipment to Ukraine,” Borrell stated. He stressed that the frozen assets have allowed the EU to change “the financial logic” of aid,…