The UK government is ready to transfer €9 billion of frozen Russian assets to Ukraine
5 December 2025 12:09
The UK government is ready to transfer Russian frozen assets worth eight billion pounds or 9.1 billion euros to Ukraine.
This was reported by The Times newspaper, citing a source in the Cabinet of Ministers, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
According to the newspaper, the country’s authorities are now trying to agree with the European Union and other countries on an agreement under which Ukraine will receive about 114.5 billion euros in the form of a reparations loan. It is expected that these funds will be enough to cover more than two-thirds of Ukraine’s financial needs in 2026-2027. If the war continues, the money will be spent on armaments, and if a peace agreement with Russia is reached, it will be used to rebuild the country.
At the same time, according to the newspaper’s source, no mechanism has been developed yet to unlock some of the Russian assets frozen in the UK and transfer them to Ukraine. All in all, according to the British authorities, the country has frozen Russian assets worth 28.6 billion euros.
The idea came amid new details in the Skripal case
The Times article came out on the day of the publication of the report of the UK Commission of Inquiry, which concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally ordered the poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal with the Novichok nerve agent in Salisbury, England, in 2018. Therefore, he is morally responsible for the death of the accidental victim, 44-year-old Briton Dawn Sturgess.
In connection with the results of the investigation, the British government announced new sanctions against the GRU and 11 individuals, including alleged employees of this intelligence service. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that the poisonings were “a reminder of Russia’s reckless aggression.” “The UK will always stand up to Putin’s brutal regime and expose its deadly machine,” he said.
Merz plans an urgent visit to Belgium to discuss Russian assets
Earlier it became known that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz postponed his trip to Norway scheduled for December 5 to meet with Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Vever that day. The meeting will be held in the format of a private dinner, and will also be attended by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
According to AFP, citing sources in the German government, the topic of Merz’s urgent trip will be the possible use of frozen Russian assets for a reparations loan to Ukraine, proposed by the European Commission.
Belgium, which holds most (about 189 billion euros) of the frozen Russian funds, rejected the European Commission’s plan, and the European Central Bank did not support it either. At the same time, Germany and most EU countries approved the idea. The EU authorities hope that an agreement on a reparations loan for Ukraine will be reached by the end of the year.
