Ambassadors for the EU member states on Wednesday struck a deal to use the proceeds of Russian assets frozen in the European Union to buy military aid for Ukraine, the Belgian government announced on X.
"The money will serve to support #Ukraine's recovery and military defence in the context of the Russian aggression," said the X account of the Belgian government, which is chairing talks among EU countries.
The agreement concerns the use of interest and other profits from the assets, but not the underlying assets themselves, which will remain frozen. The move could yield as much as €3 billion ($3.23 billion) for aid this year alone.
According to the European Commission, around €210 billion worth of Russian Central Bank assets are frozen in the EU. The Brussels-based financial institution Euroclear recently announced that the assets had made around €4.4 billion in interest in 2023.