EU to push forward plan to help Ukraine with revenues from frozen Russian assets regardless of US – EU top diplomat

The European Union will insist on using the proceeds of frozen Russian assets to provide assistance to Ukraine regardless of the United States’ decision.

As reported by Bloomberg, EU top diplomat Josep Borrell stressed that the EU will do everything possible to support Ukraine, regardless of the decision in Washington.

"Ukraine needs to boost their defence capacities – and they need it now," he told reporters before a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels when asked about the US position.

Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine's Foreign Minister, noted that the delivery of some of the promised Patriot systems is being delayed and urged Ukraine’s partners to accelerate the process.

At the same meeting, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said that many EU countries are not fulfilling their obligations to provide Ukraine with the promised weapons on time, and this is complicating the situation at the front.

In 2024, the European Union will allocate all the proceeds from frozen Russian assets to the Ukraine Facility, a four-year economic assistance programme for Ukraine, the European Commission said in a statement. According to the Commission, this is 2.5-3 billion euros.

The EU Council reported that from there 90% of the funds will go to the European Peace Fund to supply Ukraine with weapons, and the remaining 10% will go to the EU budget for reconstruction needs.

In February, the EU agreed on another important stage in its plan to use frozen Russian assets; it concerns the legal rules for storing excess profits from assets.