The EU has used €1.4bn of profits from frozen Russian assets to buy weapons for Ukraine, European Commission (EC) First Deputy President Valdis Dombrovskis has said, his statement was published by the EC press service.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said earlier that Moscow would respond harshly if the proceeds from Russian assets were sent to Kiev. A total of about $280bn worth of assets have been blocked in G7 and EU countries, as well as Australia, since the start of the conflict in Ukraine.
“The first tranche concerning the extraordinary proceeds of immobilised Russian assets has already been allocated, 1.4 billion has already been sent through the European Peace Fund to pay for the most necessary supplies, first of all artillery shells and air defence systems,” Valdis Dombrovskis said.
According to him, “the work is being done promptly, contracts have been signed with member states.”
“We expect that the main deliveries will be carried out by the end of the year,” – specified Dombrovskis.
We shall remind you that earlier Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the direct involvement of Western countries in the conflict in Ukraine changes its essence, Russia will make decisions based on the threats posed to it.
