€3B assets package ‘almost nothing,’ Ukrainian minister says

VENICE, Italy — The yearly package of €3 billion raised from profits on frozen Russian assets is “almost nothing” in the context of Ukraine’s war needs, Justice Minister Denys Maliuska told POLITICO.

The EU on Wednesday approved a plan to use the profits generated by investing frozen Russian assets in Europe — worth between €2.5 billion and €3 billion per year — to buy weapons for Ukraine.

However, as Ukraine grapples with shortages of ammunition, the country’s justice minister was critical of how far those funds could go.

“If we are talking about the needs of Ukraine and the needs of the war, military and non-military, €3 billion is actually almost nothing— we need hundreds of billions in order to win the war,” Maliuska told POLITICO at the G7 justice ministers’ meeting in Venice on Thursday.

“It’s a good first step,” he said.

Since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the EU has immobilized more than €200 billion of Russian state assets to help Kyiv’s reconstruction efforts.

“The Ukrainian government really would like to get full confiscation [of Russian assets] and really believe this is lawful and this is the only approach which will be decisive in terms of the resolution of the war [with Russia],” he added.

In February, EU leaders agreed on an additional €50 billion support package for Ukraine within the bloc’s budget, with European Council President Charles Michel saying: “This locks in steadfast, long-term, predictable funding for Ukraine.”