Ukraine may receive up to 3 billion euros ($3.3 billion) in funds from the profits of frozen Russian central bank assets as early as July, the Financial Times reported on March 12, citing unnamed officials.
Ukraine's Western partners and other allies froze around $300 billion in Russian assets at the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022.
The European Commission is reportedly preparing a plan that would involve seizing sanctions-related profits earned at the central securities depository Euroclear.
If Brussels gets member states’ approvals, Ukraine could get 2-3 billion euros ($2.2-3.3 billion) this year, depending on interest rates. The total of profits extracted from Euroclear might amount to 20 billion euros by 2027, EU officials told the Financial Times.
Brussels will withdraw 97% of the net profit earned from frozen Russian assets in Euroclear accounts and transfer them to the EU budget, according to a draft of the commission’s internal proposal which was reviewed by the Financial Times.
The money will then be paid quarterly or twice a year and "can be used in favor of Ukraine in accordance with various agreements," the draft read.
This would be the first set of funds Ukraine receives from seized Russian assets.
Debates over the legality of channeling these funds into Ukraine's reconstruction have prevented allies from transferring the money, but ongoing delays in U.S. military aid have prompted heightened urgency.
Von der Leyen urged using the windfall profits of frozen Russian assets to provide military support for Ukraine, as opposed to post-war reconstruction, back in February.
Kateryna Denisova
(Updated: )
