EU ambassadors have agreed on providing a loan to Ukraine in the amount of 35 billion euros, which was generated from the income received from the frozen assets of the Central Bank of Russia. Rikard Jozwiak, an expert on European issues of “Free Europe/Radio Liberty” wrote about this in X.
“The financial assistance is aimed at immediately meeting Ukraine’s urgent financial needs, which have increased due to increased Russian aggression against Ukraine,” the EU Council said in a statement.
According to Jozwiak, the issue of extending sanctions against Russian assets has not yet been resolved due to Hungary’s opposition.
Earlier, the Minister of Finance of Hungary, Mihaly Varga, announced that Budapest would not support the change of EU sanctions against Russia’s frozen assets, which would allow Ukraine to provide a loan. According to him, Budapest wants to wait until the US presidential elections, which will take place on November 5, 2024.
On September 20, Ursula von der Leyen, head of the European Commission, announced in Kyiv that a loan of 35 billion euros would be provided to Ukraine as part of the G7 commitments.
At a joint press conference, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine plans to use these funds for the purchase of anti-aircraft defense, energy, and internal armaments. Zelensky added that the “victory plan” of the country depends on the quick decisions of the allies.