MOSCOW, December 24. /TASS/. Ukraine received the first funds from frozen Russian assets, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmygal said.

"Ukraine has received from the US $1 billion secured by proceeds from frozen Russian assets. This is the first tranche of the planned $20 billion that the US is ready to allocate from Russian assets as part of the G7 initiative," he said on Telegram.

The prime minister did not say when Kiev would get hold of further tranches.

It was reported on December 20 that Ukraine had signed agreements allowing it to receive funds from Moscow's frozen assets. Shmygal said at the time that $1 billion would be allocated by the World Bank as a non-refundable grant against a future US contribution to the mechanism for the use of frozen assets.

In October, G7 leaders issued a joint statement announcing that they had reached an agreement on $50 billion in loans to Ukraine. According to the statement, the loans will be paid back with future proceeds from Russia's frozen sovereign assets in line with the legal systems of G7 countries and international law. The US pledged to provide a $20 billion loan to Ukraine, while the remaining $30 billion would be supplied jointly by the G7 and the EU.

Earlier, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia would make sure to respond to a theft of its assets in Europe. Moscow plans to legally prosecute the people involved in the effort, according to the spokesman. He said Europe took the worst possible path by deciding to use Russia's assets to help Kiev.