The US will be in negotiations with allies about a new Ukrainian aid package of 50 billion dollars, reports Bloomberg.
Unlike the aid package recently passed by the US Senate, it is planned to be repaid using interest income from frozen Russian state assets. Funds located mainly in Europe.
The plan is now up for discussion among the G7 countries, where the US is pushing to reach an agreement before the G7 leaders meet in Italy in June, according to Bloomberg’s sources.
They say the discussions are demanding and that it can take months to get an agreement in place.
Puts pressure on the EU
The plan signals Washington’s continued strong support for Ukraine, after Congress in April approved a $61 billion aid package for Kyiv — a package that was delayed for months by partisan disagreements.
The proposal increases the pressure on the EU to drop its objections to using frozen Russian assets.
The delays in financial and military aid have led to increasingly difficult conditions for Ukrainian officials, and increased the risk of Russian breakthroughs as a result of dwindling ammunition stocks among Ukrainian forces.
The latest development follows months of discussion among allies on how to balance the risks of using the frozen Russian assets while making aid to Ukraine more financially sustainable.
280 billion dollars
In total, the G7 countries have frozen around $280 billion in Russian central bank assets, in response to President Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The majority of these assets are held in Europe through the Belgian settlement organization Euroclear.
Around 159 billion euros in frozen Russian assets have generated a net income of $601 million as of February 15, according to Euroclear’s first-quarter accounting results.
Since last year, the assets have generated around 3.9 billion euros in net income.
Tags: Planning billiondollar package Russian funds
