UK to send weapons to Ukraine using frozen Russian assets
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced a new military
aid package for Ukraine funded through interest generated from frozen Russian
assets, The
Guardian reported on June 24.
Britain plans to supply Ukraine with 350 ground-launched air defense missiles, using £70 million in proceeds from Russian funds that were frozen as part of sanctions over the full-scale invasion.
“This move marks the first time the UK has used Russia-linked funds to directly finance weapons for Kyiv,” journalists noted.
The missiles will be deployed using British Raven air defense systems. Five more systems will be delivered to Ukraine, bringing the total number of Raven systems transferred to 13.
Speaking at the NATO summit in The Hague, Starmer said: “Russia, not Ukraine, must pay the price for Putin’s barbaric and illegal war.”
“It is absolutely right that we use frozen Russian assets to bolster Ukraine’s air defenses. Ukraine’s security is vital to our own,” he added.
What’s known about frozen Russian assets
Bloomberg previously reported that the EU is exploring “more aggressive” ways to confiscate frozen assets belonging to Russia’s central bank.
Together with the G7 and Australia, the EU has frozen roughly $280 billion in Russian assets, held mostly in securities and cash through Belgium-based clearinghouse Euroclear.
According to the U.S. Treasury Department, sanctions against Russian elites have led to the freezing of an additional $58 billion in assets, including luxury real estate, yachts and private jets.
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has said G7 and EU countries plan to provide Ukraine with $50 billion in 2025, backed by the frozen Russian assets.
In Jan. 2025, the EU for the first time transferred €3 billion to Ukraine using income derived from frozen Russian funds.
On Feb. 25, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said there was still no consensus among all EU member states on confiscating the Russian assets currently frozen within the bloc.
Sanctions involving Russian assets must be extended every six months with unanimous support from all 27 EU countries. Officials in Brussels have voiced concern that Hungary could block the renewal this summer.
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