The United States will provide Ukraine with $15 billion in additional funding leveraged from frozen Russian central bank assets.
This is according to Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, who announced the plan on Monday, Dec. 30. The move is part of a broader $20 billion U.S. contribution to Ukrainian aid funding under the Group of Seven's (G7) $50 billion loan framework to Ukraine, secured with future revenues from seized Russian assets held by banks outside of Moscow's reach. (Related: Antony Blinken: U.S. has provided Ukraine with over $100 billion in aid since 2022.)
The G7 – comprising the U.S., Canada, Japan, the U.K., France, Germany and Italy – initially pledged the $50 billion loan in June 2022, using profits from frozen Russian assets as collateral.
Of the estimated $300 billion in Russian assets immobilized globally, around $213 billion is held in the Brussels, Belgium-based clearing house Euroclear. The firm froze the assets under its control in late February 2022, shortly after the European Union imposed sanctions on Russia in response to the escalation of the conflict with Kyiv and the beginning of its special military operation in Ukraine.
The frozen funds have already generated billions in interest alone, and Euroclear has already transferred around €1.55 billion ($1.6 billion) to Ukraine back in July.
The Kremlin has strongly criticized the asset seizures, with spokesperson Dmitry Peskov condemning the measures as "theft" and warning of potential legal retaliation. Peskov's remarks came in response to Shmyhal’s announcement that the U.S. had already transferred the first $1 billion installment from the frozen Russian central bank funds to Ukraine.
More at NaturalNews.com
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