BRUSSELS, November 15. /TASS/. The European Union intends to provide Ukraine with a second tranche of 1.9 billion euros of profits from frozen Russian assets in the spring of 2025, a high-ranking EU representative told reporters in Brussels.
"The second tranche will be larger than the first - 1.9 billion euros. The money will be allocated only next year - in March-April 2025," he said, stressing that the EU is currently preparing the modalities for the allocation of this tranche.
The diplomat also noted that the EU has almost fulfilled its promise to provide Ukraine with 1 million shells.
"We have almost provided 1 million shells: 98% have already been delivered," he said.
According to the EU official, the EU intends to train up to 75,000 Ukrainian soldiers by the end of winter. "Our training mission has already trained 65,000 Ukrainians. Our goal is to train up to 75,000 by the end of winter," he added.
In late October, the European Union adopted a package of regulations approving the allocation of 35 billion euros in macro-financial assistance to Ukraine, part of a broader loan package from the G7 for a total of 45 billion euros. The loans will be repaid using revenues earned from the reinvestment of Russian assets the European Commission illegally seized on the territory of the EU countries. The term of repayment for these loans is 45 years. By doing this, Brussels is telling the G7 countries, primarily the United States, that it will not unfreeze Russian assets for at least another 45 years. According to the EC, the amount of assets seized in the EU is about 220 billion euros.
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova warned that Russia would take retaliatory steps if income from Russian assets were transferred to Ukraine. Since the start of military action in Ukraine, assets worth about $280 billion (260 billion euros, most of which are at the disposal of the Belgian financial group Euroclear) have been blocked in the G7 and EU countries, as well as in Australia,.