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The European Union said it has sent to Ukraine €1.5 billion in proceeds generated from frozen Russian assets to help pay for the war and the reconstruction of Ukraine.
The transfer marks the first such payment from profits derived from an estimated €210 billion euros in assets of the Russian central bank frozen by various European nations.
"Today we transfer €1.5 billion in proceeds from immobilised Russian assets to the defence and reconstruction of Ukraine," European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said in a LinkedIn post on Friday. "There is no better symbol or use for the Kremlin’s money than to make Ukraine and all of Europe a safer place to live."
The money comes from profit generated off the frozen Russian assets, as the use of the assets themselves is still under intense debate. In May, the European Union's member states agreed to use the interest on the frozen assets to pay for Ukraine's military effort and reconstruction.
The money, most of which is held in Belgium, was frozen as part of sanctions packages in retaliation for Moscow’s full-scale invasion. The interest on those assets could provide Ukraine around €3 billion per year, according to the EU.
Some 90% of the money will be channeled through the European Peace Facility, which helps pay for Ukraine's war effort, while the remainder will be funnelled through the Ukraine Facility, funneled for reconstruction.
In a newspaper opinion piece earlier this year, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said frozen Russian assets in the UK, Luxembourg and Switerland alone could pay for the reconstruction of Ukraine's transport infrastructure, including six civilian airports, at least 344 bridges and 25,000 kms of highways.
And such assets currently held in Germany, Austria, Ireland and Poland could completely rebuild Ukraine's education infrastructure, including 1,700 schools, 1,000 kindergartens and 586 universities, as well as hundreds of other buildings.
He estimated $23 billion in frozen Russian assets are held in the UK, $6.8 billion in Luxembourg and $8.7 billion in Switzerland. Meanwhile, Germany holds $6.5 billion, Austria has $1.8 billion, Ireland has $2 billion and Poland holds $1.13 billion.
