Ukraine has received 3 billion euros ($3 .09 billion) from the EU, the first tranche of loans from the bloc funded by proceeds of frozen Russian assets, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Jan. 10.
The money has been provided through the Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration (ERA) initiative, in which G7 countries pledged to provide Ukraine with a $50 billion loan, with the EU contributing about $20 billion.
"This is the first tranche of funds from the European Union, secured through income from frozen Russian assets," Shmyhal said in a post on Telegram.
"In this way, we are implementing the principle of 'Russia will pay' and strengthening Ukraine's financial stability in 2025," he added.
The U.S. Treasury Department announced in December that it will provide $20 billion in loan assistance to Ukraine, marking its contribution to the initiative.
While Western countries have frozen $300 billion in Russian assets, they can only access the annual income generated by these funds, approximately $3.2 billion.
These profits will back the $50-billion loan to Kyiv, while the vast majority of the assets are frozen in European countries.
Speaking at the G7 summit in June, President Volodymyr Zelensky called for a mechanism to fully confiscate the frozen Russian funds, highlighting their potential to bolster Ukraine's long-term recovery.
According to October reports, the G7 plans to keep these Russian assets immobilized even after the war ends.
Dominic Culverwell
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