Global leaders urge EU to transfer frozen Russian assets to Ukraine

The Kyiv Security Forum reported the information, citing the Financial Times.

It noted that the appeal was initiated by the chairman of the Kyiv Security Forum, Arseniy Yatsenyuk. It was signed by over 30 prominent international figures, including former heads of government of European countries, prominent American diplomats, members of the European Parliament, the chairman of the Munich Security Conference, the former president of the World Bank and representatives of various universities.

"We call on the leaders of the Group of Seven and the European Union to approve the long-awaited decision to allow Ukraine to use sovereign Russian assets and direct them to compensate for the damage caused to Ukraine and Ukrainians," the statement reads.

As of today, the total amount of frozen sovereign Russian assets is approximately EUR 300 billion. This includes about EUR 200 billion in the EU.

The appeal says that the use of sovereign Russian assets should be seen as a collective countermeasure.

"Sovereign Russian assets should be deposited into a special Ukraine Recovery Facility to be managed by representatives of the Group of Seven in consultation with the Government of Ukraine," the statement added.

• On June 30, EU leaders supported the idea of introducing a tax on windfall profits from the assets of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation to help rebuild Ukraine.
• The EU leaders made a decision in principle to transfer billions of euros to Ukraine, which were received from the investment of Russian assets frozen in the EU.