The European Union will direct revenues from Russian financial assets held in European banking institutions to the collective purchase of weapons for Ukraine.
What is known about the EU's plans to use the frozen assets of the Russian Federation
During the hearings in the European Parliament, she called on the EU member states to implement an increasingly coordinated policy for the joint ordering of weapons and ammunition.
The time has come to discuss the use of profits from charges on "frozen" Russian assets for the joint purchase of military equipment for Ukraine. "There cannot be a more powerful symbol or a more appropriate use of this money," emphasised von der Leyen.
As the president noted, the European Defense Fund invests in developing modern defence capabilities in critical areas: naval and land areas, air combat and space-based early warning systems, development of cyber defence capabilities, etc.
The European Peace Fund has already mobilised 6.1 billion euros to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine, including the supply of lethal and non-lethal military equipment and supplies... It is important that we have taken a big step to increase our defense production capabilities. Next week we will announce the award decision under the ASAP (EU Ammunition Assistance Program. — Ed.). This financing will make it possible to almost double the production of ammunition in Europe — to more than 2 million per year — already by the end of 2025, — von der Leyen added.
Aid to Ukraine
After the beginning of the Russian military aggression against Ukraine, the European Union and its member countries provided financial, economic, humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine for about 90 billion euros. At the same time, the EU has identified weaknesses in its own defence and security system, as well as in the capabilities of the European defence industry.
On Tuesday, February 27, the head of the US Treasury, Janet Yellen, called for finding a way to transfer the "frozen" assets of the Russian Federation to Ukraine. She said, "There are strong international legal, economic and moral reasons for this". The U.S. Treasury Secretary said the world's developed economies must find a way to "unlock the value" of immobilised Russian assets to help bolster Ukraine's defences against the Russian invasion and for long-term post-war reconstruction.
In addition, Yellen clarified that the EU, G7 and Australia have frozen about 282 billion dollars of Russian assets in securities and cash. At the same time, she emphasised that more than two-thirds of these funds are concentrated in the EU.
