The G7 countries are close to making a political decision on using the proceeds from frozen Russian sovereign assets to provide financial assistance to Ukraine. This was reported simultaneously by several high-ranking sources in US and EU diplomatic circles. According to Bloomberg and the Financial Times, the final decision could be announced in the coming weeks, possibly by the end of 2025 or early 2026.
After Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the G7 countries, the EU, and Australia froze approximately $300 billion in sovereign assets belonging to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. The bulk of these funds — approximately €210 billion — are held in the European depository Euroclear (Belgium). In 2024 alone, these assets generated approximately €4.5 billion in interest income, and a comparable or slightly higher amount is expected in 2025.
Initially, the confiscation of the assets themselves was discussed, but due to legal risks (possible lawsuits from Russia and undermining confidence in the Western financial system), this option was deemed too radical. Instead, the G7 is leaning toward a softer, but still unprecedented, mechanism: using the profits (interest and coupons) generated by the frozen assets, while the assets themselves remain frozen until Russia pays reparations to Ukraine or another political settlement is reached.
According to Bloomberg sources, the final political decision of the G7 may be formalized in the form of a joint statement by leaders or finance ministers in December 2025 – January 2026. After that, technical and legal refinements will be required so that actual payments to Ukraine in the amount of several billion euros annually can begin in the first half of 2026.
Thus, although the full confiscation of $300 billion remains off the table for now, the use of interest earned on these funds is becoming virtually inevitable. This will be the largest and longest-term external financing mechanism for Kyiv during the entire war.