Blinken announced the transfer of $50 billion of Russian assets to Kiev in the near future

In the coming weeks, Kiev will start receiving $50bn from the United States and European Union countries at the expense of profits from frozen Russian assets. American Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said during a press conference on December 4.

"We're focused in a very practical, concrete way on three things. Making sure that it (Ukraine. - Ed.) has the money, the resources necessary to support its economy and its defense capabilities. We managed to get $50 billion for Ukraine on the basis of frozen sovereign assets, Russian assets, which will be withdrawn in the coming weeks from both the United States and Europe," he said.

Among the remaining two items needed for Ukraine, the secretary of state named ammunition, military equipment and everything that goes with it, including air defense equipment (air defense), and training of Ukrainian army fighters. Blinken specified that the West has an obligation to provide training and equipment for every Ukrainian fighter that Ukraine mobilizes.

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Ukraine on December 4 signed a memorandum of understanding and a loan agreement with the European Union to raise €35 billion in aid to Kiev, which are part of an initiative by the G7 countries on a mechanism for additional loans to boost Ukraine's budget revenues. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal also reported on November 28 that the EU had signed a memorandum of understanding with Ukraine for the first part of the €18.1bn loan with repayment from the proceeds of frozen Russian assets.

Prior to that, on November 7, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (his term expired on May 20) called the Russian assets frozen by the West as Ukrainian money. He also called for finding a mechanism to transfer them to Kiev as soon as possible.

In June, the G7 countries promised in the final statement of the summit in Puglia, Italy, that they would provide Ukraine with loans worth about $50 billion by the end of 2024, with repayment from the proceeds of Russian assets. In late October, the G7 leaders reached an agreement on the details of the loan. Reuters reported that at a meeting on November 26 in Italy, the foreign ministers of the G7 states said again that they expect to start distributing the funds by the end of the year.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, commenting on the possible transfer of proceeds from immobilized Russian assets to Ukraine, emphasized back in August that these steps were illegal and would have consequences.

Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Ukraine amid Russia's special operation to protect Donbas, which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022, after the situation in the region worsened due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.