BRUSSELS, Sept 20 (Askume) – The European Union will provide Ukraine with a loan of up to 35 billion euros (about $39 billion) to help it cope with its ongoing war with Russia, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Friday.
The loan, announced during a visit to Kyiv by the chairman of the organisation’s committee , is part of a wider plan by the G7 countries to use proceeds from the seizure of Russian assets to raise funds to impose sanctions on Russia.
“Russia’s continued attacks mean that Ukraine still needs the EU’s support,” von der Leyen said in a post on X.
Ukraine faces huge financial needs due to the destruction of its infrastructure caused by more than two years of brutal war.
Russia destroyed nearly 9 gigawatts (GW) of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
Shortly after Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022, the Group of Seven (G7) froze nearly $300 billion worth of Russian financial assets. They promised to use the money to help their partners, but it took months to discuss how the mechanism would actually work.
In May, EU member states reached a deal under which 90% of revenues would be used to fund EU-run military aid to Ukraine, while the remaining 10% would be used to assist Kiev in other ways.
These assets have generated extraordinary interest due to its crisis, which has resulted in a so-called windfall. EU diplomats said Ukraine expects to receive the first tranche of funds in July.
(1 USD = 0.8960 EUR)
