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Ukraine Receives €1 Billion from Frozen Russian Assets to Support Recovery

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Lucile Brizard
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Ukraine Receives €1 Billion from Frozen Russian Assets to Support Recovery
Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal speaks to the press ahead of a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the EU headquarters in Brussels on April 10, 2025. (Source: Getty Images)

Ukraine has received €1 billion ($1.13 billion) from the European Union under the ERA program, with the funds derived from profits generated by the frozen assets of Russia’s Central Bank, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced on May 8.

Shmyhal emphasized that the funds are part of a fair approach where Russia is held accountable for the destruction it has caused in Ukraine. The funds will be directed toward covering critical budget expenditures and strengthening Ukraine’s ongoing defense and recovery efforts.

“We are grateful to the EU and G7 partners for an effective mechanism. We look forward to the next step — full confiscation of the assets and tougher sanctions in response to Russia’s atrocities,” Shmyhal stated.

Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Western countries froze around $300 billion in assets belonging to the Central Bank of Russia. The majority of these assets are held in the European Union, particularly in Belgium’s Euroclear, with additional assets in the United States, Japan, and other G7 countries.

These assets remain frozen, with G7 countries reiterating that they will not be unblocked until Russia compensates Ukraine for the damages caused by the invasion. In the meantime, the EU has begun utilizing the profits generated by these frozen assets.

Recently, Shmyhal announced that Japan would also provide $3 billion to Ukraine, sourced from Russian assets.

In related news, EU ministers from the International Coalition for the Creation of a Special Tribunal on the Crime of Aggression Against Ukraine met in Lviv on May 9 to reaffirm their commitment to establishing the tribunal, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine announced.

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