The European Union agreed on the transfer of 1.4 billion euros from Russian air defense assets and ammunition for Ukraine

The European Union countries finally agreed on a tranche of 1.4 billion euros from frozen assets of the Russian Central Bank, which Ukraine will receive in July, said the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrel at a press conference after a meeting of the EU foreign affairs ministers.

According to the fighter, the money will be sent to help Kyiv with air defense, ammunition and support for Ukrainian industry. By the end of 2024, Ukraine will receive another billion euros from Russian frozen assets, added Borrel.

The transfer of these funds to Kyiv was blocked by Hungary. According to the fighter, due to the position of Budapest, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the European Union could not agree on seven legal acts necessary for unlocking six more euros from the European Fund of the World, which were also supposed to be launched for military assistance to Ukraine.

However, when deciding on the transfer of income from Ukraine from frozen Russian assets, other EU countries came to the conclusion that Hungary did not have the right to veto - since, as Borrel explained, she abandoned the previous decisions underlying this scheme. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Siyyarto in response accused the country of inciting war, saying that the EU “crossed the Red Line”, and said that Hungary would look for legal ways to challenge this decision.

• After the start of the full -scale invasion of Russian troops in Ukraine in the West, about 260 billion euros of the Central Bank assets were frozen. Most of the funds (about 190 billion euros) are stored in the Belgian depository of EuroClear. For a long time, the EU countries could not come to the agreement regarding the use of this money, fearing that the complete confiscation of assets would affect the stability of the Euro.
• On May 21, 2024, the European Union countries approved a plan for the use of income from frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine. It is expected that frozen Russian assets will annually bring about five billion euros. Ukraine will receive payments twice a year.