The disbursement by the US of a $20 billion loan to Ukraine funded by frozen assets belonging to Russia's central bank could be classified as theft, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov has said.
The US loan is part of a broader $50 billion G7 loan deal, which includes a separate $20 billion commitment by the EU and $10 billion to be split by G7 members Great Britain, Japan, and Canada. On Tuesday, the US Treasury Department announced the money had been transferred to a World Bank fund that will send it on to Kiev.
“I can say that this act falls under the classification of robbery [on the part] of an organized group, I mean [on the part] of the Group of Seven,” Ryabkov told journalists on Wednesday.
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, with the frozen Russian assets to be used as collateral, to help Kiev buy weapons and rebuild its infrastructure. The agreement was finalized in October. Ukraine theoretically is expected to repay the multibillion-dollar G7 loan over 40 years.
According to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, the loan transfer will provide Ukraine a “critical infusion of support.” The money covers around half of Kiev’s current deficit. The country’s state budget for next year, signed by Vladimir Zelensky into law last month, anticipates revenues of $49 billion and expenditures of $87 billion, putting the overall deficit at $38 billion.
Zelensky said on Tuesday he was “deeply grateful” to Biden, Yellen, and lawmakers who supported using seized Russian assets to bolster Ukraine’s defense, describing their decision as a “powerful act of justice.”
A week earlier, the outgoing US president authorized a new $725 million military aid package for Ukraine and imposed additional economic sanctions on Russia.
Moscow has repeatedly accused the West of “stealing” its money and warned that tapping these funds would be illegal and set a dangerous precedent. Finance Minister Anton Siluanov warned in October that Moscow would respond in kind to the West’s use of the income generated by its frozen central bank reserves. Last month, he said Russia would respond by using the income from the frozen assets of Western investors.
The International Monetary Fund has also 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.