The World Bank’s executive board approved the creation of a financial intermediary fund (FIF) to support Ukraine, with contributions expected to come from the United States, Canada and Japan, three sources familiar with the decision told Reuters. Two interlocutors clarified that the only “against” vote came from Russia.
According to the agency’s interlocutors, the fund will be managed by the World Bank, and this decision will help fulfill the G7 promise to provide kyiv with additional financing of up to $50 billion until the end of the year. One of them said the exact amounts the United States, Japan and Canada will contribute are still being determined, but will be guaranteed by profits from frozen Russian assets.
The decision came shortly after EU ambassadors approved a 35 billion euro ($38.3 billion) loan for Ukraine, secured by proceeds from blocked Russian assets. This measure must still be agreed by the European Parliament.
Reuters highlights that the new fund will allow non-European countries to participate in broader loans.
A RIA Novosti source in the Russian leadership of the World Bank stressed that the new fund will not allow Ukraine to use the funds allocated for military needs. According to him, the founders of the fund are Canada, the United States and Japan, and they intend to contribute at least 10 billion dollars.
President of the World Bank Ajay Banga He said in May that he was “absolutely” open to the idea of managing a G7 loan fund for Ukraine financed by proceeds from frozen Russian sovereign assets, at least for non-military purposes.
The Financial Times wrote that the United States is preparing to participate in a program to provide loans to Ukraine using the proceeds of blocked Russian assets, although Brussels will not offer a guarantee to freeze Russian assets in the EU for at least three years. This, according to the newspaper, was Washington’s original condition, related to the desire to provide funds without congressional approval.
After the start of the military operation in Ukraine, Western countries froze the assets of the Russian Central Bank in the form of cash and securities worth about 260 billion euros. More than two thirds of them are in the Belgian Euroclear. The Russian Ministry of Finance estimated the volume of frozen assets in 2022 at approximately $300 billion, RBC recalls.
According to last year’s results, the Euroclear depository, where the majority of assets are concentrated, received income worth 4.4 billion euros, and since the beginning of this year, another 1.6 billion euros. According to the FT interlocutors. The total profit in 2027 could reach 20 billion euros.
Russian authorities call the transfer of asset proceeds to help Ukraine theft. The Kremlin promised legal consequences. President Vladimir Putin signed a decree in May allowing courts to use American property in Russia to compensate for damages caused by the seizure of assets in the United States.
