Ukraine is facing a financial gap of $27bn [€24bn] to survive the rest of the year, at a time when Russia’s continuous attacks and Kyiv’s shortage of air defences have shrunk the country’s economy and made living in Ukrainian cities very difficult.
This was the bad news Volodymyr Zelensky delivered to allies on Ukraine’s Independence Day last month, reportedly surprising European officials.
The dire financial situation of Ukraine, ahead of what is expected to be a difficult winter with another Russian mobilisation possible, has reopened the discussion on whether to use Moscow’s frozen assets.
Let’s recap.
In 2022, the EU decided to prohibit any transactions related to the Central Bank of Russia’s (CBR) reserves and assets, de facto ’freezing’ €210bn in assets held in Europe.
