UK ready to use frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine war effort
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the UK was “ready to move forward” on using the full value of frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine’s war effort.
The leaders of Britain, France and Germany said in a statement that the joint action would “increase the pressure” on Russian President Vladimir Putin and “bring Russia to the negotiating table”.
He added that the move would be carried out “in close cooperation” with the United States.
UK sanctions have frozen more than £25bn of Russian assets since Moscow began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. However, until now, funds sent to Ukraine using Russian assets were received only from the profits and interest accrued on them.
Sir Keir told Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky that Britain, France and Germany were “united in making progress towards using the full value of immobilized Russian sovereign assets to end the war”.
He added that further sanctions “in the coming days and weeks” would increase pressure on Moscow.
The announcement comes after European leaders met in Copenhagen last week to discuss the use of frozen Russian assets for a €140bn ($162bn; £121bn) loan to Ukraine.
Last month, US President Donald Trump called on G7 allies to seize “or otherwise use” frozen Russian assets, according to the Financial Times.
The value of frozen Russian assets in the EU is estimated at almost €211bn (£181bn).
Russia started Extensive missile and drone attacks across Ukraine It caused power outages in much of Ukraine’s capital Kiev and eight other regions on Friday.
Ukrainian officials said that 2 people died and at least 20 people were injured in the attack.
In a post on X following the attack, Zelensky wrote that the “cynical and calculated attack” targeted civilian and energy infrastructure.
“What we need is not empty words, but decisive actions by the United States, Europe and the G7 on the provision of air defense systems and the implementation of sanctions,” he wrote.
“Every sanctions decision weakens Russia’s war machine,” Zelensky wrote in a separate post.
Also on Friday, Zelensky told the BBC he would urge Sir Keir to take part in the PURL programme, under which NATO countries buy weapons from the US to give to Ukraine.
While he praised Britain’s strong support for Kiev, he said it should send a clear signal that it would be involved in the system and impose more sanctions on Russia.
