MOSCOW, September 24 (HS/RIA Novosti) - Since the beginning of 2024, the European Union has transferred 8 billion euros ($9.1 billion) to Ukraine from revenues generated by the frozen Russian assets, Vladislav Maslennikov, Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Department of European Issues, told RIA Novosti.

The diplomat said that, starting in 2024, the EU has been appropriating profits from the reinvestment of Bank of Russia reserves that were illegally frozen at the Belgian depository Euroclear.

During this period, the total volume of revenues transferred to Ukraine reached eight billion euros, with more than 3.5 billion euros allocated specifically for arms purchases, Maslennikov said.

After the start of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, the EU and G7 countries froze almost half of Russia's gold and foreign currency reserves, amounting to approximately 300 billion euros ($350 billion). Of the amount, over 200 billion euros is held in the EU, primarily in accounts of the Belgian-based Euroclear, one of the world's largest clearing and settlement systems. The Russian Foreign Ministry has repeatedly called the freezing of Russian assets in Europe theft, noting that the EU is targeting not just private funds but also Russian state assets.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Indrani Sarkar