UK Set to Employ Frozen Russia's Assets to Support the Ukrainian War Effort

The United Kingdom is ready to advance with using the total value of immobilized Russian assets to support the Ukrainian war effort, PM Sir Keir Starmer has announced.

In a joint statement, the leaders of the United Kingdom, France, and Germany emphasized that this joint measure would increase strain on Moscow's head Vladimir Putin and compel Moscow to engage in negotiations.

They added that the initiative would be implemented in close cooperation with the US.

United Kingdom restrictions have immobilized more than £25bn of Russian assets since the Russian government initiated its comprehensive attack against the Ukrainian nation in 2022. But, until now, resources allocated to the Ukrainian government using Russian funds had exclusively been drawn from profits and interest earned on them.

Sir Keir told President Volodymyr Zelensky that the UK, the French Republic, and Germany were united in their aim to push forward toward using the complete amount of the immobilized Russian sovereign assets to end the war.

He added that further measures soon would heighten the tension on Russia.

This announcement follows European representatives met in the Danish capital previously to discuss employing seized Russian funds for a 140-billion-euro loan to Ukraine.

Last month, President Donald Trump encouraged Group of Seven partners to take or otherwise use seized Russian assets, as reported by news outlets.

The total of seized Russian holdings in the EU is estimated to be almost €211bn.

President Zelensky urges the United Kingdom's Sir Keir Starmer to join the weapons procurement programme

Moscow carried out extensive aerial attacks throughout Ukraine on recently, resulting in blackouts in many areas of the capital city, the city, and several other zones.

Several persons were lost their lives and a minimum of 20 people were injured in the strike, Ukrainian officials reported.

In a post on an online platform after the attack, Zelensky wrote that the cynical and calculated attack targeted non-military and power facilities.

"The necessity is not empty words but concrete steps - from the United States, EU, and the Group of Seven - in supplying air defence systems and applying penalties," he wrote.

"Each restrictive measure weakens Russia's war machine," Zelensky wrote, in a separate post.

Also on Friday, Zelensky informed reporters he would urge Sir Keir to enter the weapons procurement scheme, under which alliance members acquire military equipment from the America to provide to the Ukrainian forces.

While praising the United Kingdom's consistent assistance for the Ukrainian government, he said it should demonstrate clearly that it would participate in the program, as well as impose further restrictions on the Russian Federation.

Significant Attacks Cause Outages in the Capital and Throughout the Nation

• Conflict in Ukraine
• French Republic
• Federal Republic of Germany
• Russian Federation
• Ukrainian Nation