US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that the Group of Seven (G7) is actively working on finalizing a multi-billion-dollar loan package for Ukraine from Russian sovereign assets frozen by the West.
Speaking at a press briefing following the G7 meeting in Italy, Blinken voiced the group’s commitment to ensuring that Kiev has sufficient funds and munitions to continue fighting “effectively” in 2025 or to engage in any potential negotiations with Moscow from a position of strength.
“In our support for Ukraine, we are finalizing getting out the door the $50 billion that has been secured on the basis of the Russian sovereign assets that are frozen,” Blinken stated.
The US and its allies froze an estimated $300 billion in assets belonging to the Russian central bank following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022. In June, the G7 members pledged a $50 billion loan for Kiev, which will be repaid using Moscow’s money.
The bulk of the frozen funds, around €197 billion ($206 billion), are being held at Euroclear. The Brussels-based clearinghouse has estimated that the impounded Russian assets generated €5.15 billion ($5.4 billion) in interest in the first three quarters of this fiscal year.
Outgoing US President Joe Biden announced in October the “historic decision” to provide $20 billion in loans to Ukraine that will be paid back with the interest earned from immobilized Russian sovereign assets.
Kiev’s Western backers have been trying to accelerate work on allocating the funds amid concerns that US President-elect Donald Trump could cut aid for Ukraine. During his campaign, he repeatedly vowed to scale back assistance for the country if elected.
Earlier this month, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky demanded that all of the immobilized $300 billion in Russian sovereign assets be given to Kiev.
Moscow has repeatedly denounced the asset freeze as “theft” and warned that tapping into these funds would be illegal and set a dangerous precedent.
Last week, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov promised to initiate retaliatory measures mirroring the West’s actions. He said Russia had also frozen the resources of Western investors, Western financial market participants and companies, adding that “the income from these assets will also be used.”
The International Monetary Fund has repeatedly warned that any decisions regarding the seizure of frozen Russian assets should be backed with “sufficient legal support,” noting that without this, the move could undermine trust in the Western financial system.