EU transfers EUR10.1 bln revenue from frozen Russian assets to Ukraine over six months – media
The EU transferred EUR10.1 billion in revenue from frozen funds of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation to Ukraine in the first half of 2025 to support military and civilian projects in the country, the German publication Welt am Sonntag, citing data from the European Commission, reads.
"According to these data, the government of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy received EUR 1 bln in interest income annually in March, May, June and July; EUR 3 bln in January; and EUR 3.1 bln in April. The Russian assets themselves are owned by the Belgian company Euroclear, which stores securities and settles stock transactions. In 2022, the EU confiscated a total of EUR 210 bln from Russia," the publication says.
At the same time, it is noted that some politicians are unhappy with this procedure and want to make all funds available to Kyiv, and not just the interest on them. "The time has come to use Russian funds directly. Either to provide economic support to Ukraine, or to finance weapons systems," EU MP Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann said in a comment to the publication.
But economists warn of devastating consequences for the financial system. "The whole issue is quite emotional. Many people, of course, think it is morally right to give the frozen money to Ukraine... Central banks need to be sure that their reserves abroad are safe," said French economist Nicolas Veron, who works at the Brussels-based Bruegel think tank and the Washington-based Peterson Institute for International Economics, adding that this is a central element of the global monetary order.