Head of the European Commission explains how the EU will support Ukraine in case of termination of US aid
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said that if US President-elect Donald Trump stops helping Ukraine, the EU will be able to support Kyiv through frozen Russian assets and the Ukraine Facility programme. Von der Leyen said this during a briefing following the results of an informal EU summit in Budapest on 8 November.
“As you know, we have a €50 billion programme under the Ukraine Facility. And now, in addition to this, a loan from the Group of Seven at the expense of the frozen assets of the Russian Federation, which will give Ukraine important income until 2026. And you know that we have a fair distribution between all the G7 member states, who are all participating in this 50 billion programme,’ von der Leyen explained.
Earlier, von der Leyen stressed that the European Union is ready to work with the new Donald Trump administration on a friendly basis.
Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Bank of Russia’s assets totalling about 280 billion euros have been frozen, more than two-thirds of which are located in the EU.
The Belgian company Euroclear holds approximately 191 billion euros of Russian assets, of which it earned about 4.4 billion euros in 2023, the Financial Times reports.
A representative of the US Treasury Department said that Ukraine would not be able to receive the full amount immediately if Russian assets were confiscated. However, Ukraine’s allies have assured that they will find a way to use them.
In July 2024, the G7 and EU leaders decided to use the profits from Russia’s frozen assets to provide $50 billion in financial support to Ukraine. However, the US is demanding guarantees from the EU that this loan will be repaid from Russian assets, as sanctions against Russia are coming to an end.
Later, Washington said that it would not unfreeze Russian assets until Moscow pays reparations to Ukraine in full.
At the end of July 2024, European Commissioner for Economic Affairs Paolo Gentiloni said that the G7 plans to conclude a framework agreement on a €50 billion loan to Ukraine in October.
