EU leaders urge to use incomes from frozen Russian assets for Ukraine

The heads of European Union states and governments, who gathered for an emergency summit in Brussels, urged in their final statement to swiftly adopt the European Commission’s proposals on using incomes from frozen Russian assets for the benefit of Ukraine.

"The European Council welcomes progress on the proposals to direct extraordinary revenues stemming from Russia’s immobilized assets for the benefit of Ukraine and calls for their swift adoption," the document says.

The EU, the US, Japan and Canada have frozen Russian assets worth a total amount of around $300 billion. Around $5-6 billion of these assets are held at US securities depositories, while the bulk of the assets are in Europe, including at the Euroclear international securities depository in Belgium.

Earlier, the European Commission greenlighted a proposal on using revenues from blocked Russian funds for aid to Kiev. EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said that the initiative meant using 90 per cent of Russia’s revenues to purchase shells for Ukraine and putting the other 10 per cent into the EU’s budget for further support of Ukraine’s military and industrial complex. The first transfer could be made as early as in July. Russian Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina said earlier that if the West used frozen Russian assets the Bank of Russia would take respective measures to protect its interests.

Governor of the Bank of Russia Elvira Nabiullina said at the end of March that if the West uses frozen Russian assets, the Bank of Russia will take appropriate measures to protect its interests.