By Nur Asena Erturk
The EU foreign policy chief suggested Wednesday using revenues from frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine.
“We must know to match the speed of our response with extent of this threat by quickly taking the next steps on redirecting the revenues from frozen Russian assets for the benefit of Ukraine,” Josep Borrell told a joint news conference with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and EU Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi in Brussels, following a EU-Ukraine Association Council meeting.
Borrell explained that it was not about the capital itself but the “windfall profits generated by these assets due to the high increase on interest rates.”
He stressed that Ukrainian soldiers “do not fight with banknotes, they need physical arms, they need physical instruments in order to defend” the Ukrainian people.
After the start of Russia's "special military operation" in Ukraine in February 2022, the EU and the G-7 countries froze almost Russia's foreign reserves worth over €300 billion euros.
- Ukraine grateful for trade agreement with EU
“We are grateful to our European partners for the agreement to continue the autonomous trade liberalization measures,” Shmyhal said.
The premier added that his country was “ready to take further coordinated steps with its neighbors and the European Commission to unblock the border and restore exports and transit of Ukrainian goods,” particularly agricultural products.
Commissioner Varhelyi, for his part, vowed continuous support for Ukraine and added that the EU disbursed the first payment worth €4.5 billion ($4.8 billion) from the newly established Ukraine Facility fund of €50 billion.