The European Union's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, announced on June 24 that Ukraine will receive the revenue payments from Russian frozen assets in two tranches starting from July.
"We have these revenues coming from the frozen assets, and we have to look for a way in order to use them, avoiding any kind of blockage," Borrell said during the press briefing in Luxembourg.
"We have a process in order to make this work quickly. The first tranche of money will come next week, in July. The second will come some months later."
EU ambassadors agreed on May 8 to use the windfall profits from the frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine's reconstruction and defense needs. Kyiv is expected to receive roughly 3 billion euros ($3.2 billion) every year, according to earlier discussions.
Borrell said Ukraine needs more help, particularly now.
"I hope that the ministers will support the proposal that we have tabled in order to make this support increase using the Russian revenues," he added.
Ukraine's Western partners and other allies froze around $300 billion in Russian assets at the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022. Roughly two-thirds are held in the Belgium-based financial services company Euroclear.
While some G7 members, like the U.S., proposed seizing Russian assets outright, the EU has been more hesitant, fearing the legal and fiscal pitfalls of confiscation. Instead, Brussels seeks to use windfall profits generated by the frozen assets and funnel them to Kyiv.
Timothy Ash
