On 5 August, 2026, President
Von der Leyen of the E.U. “announced that €1.4 billion in profits from
immobilised Russian assets [held in the E.U. would] be allocated after Russia’s
deadly strikes on Kyiv.”[1]
This response sounds well and good, especially as Ukraine had failed to shoot
down all of the missiles and thus was in vital need of American anti-missile weaponry.
Yet in spite of this strategic vulnerability, “only €70 million” of the €1.4 billion
would be “directed toward military assistance.” The lion’s share of the
profits would “be used to repay G7 and EU loans.”[2]
In other words, the E.U. Commission was seeing to it that almost all of the
profits from Russian assets would go to creditors outside of Ukraine in the
E.U. and elsewhere. Because Russia had been serially lobing missiles on
civilian targets such as apartment buildings in Ukraine with overwhelming
success, and, moreover, occupied at least 20 percent of Ukraine in the east at
the time, the Commission’s decision to pay off loans rather than keep them
outstanding so much more money than €70 million could be directed to
Ukraine’s military defenses. Both ethically and geopolitically, getting the
lent money back especially to creditors in the E.U. right away is problematic.
The full essay is at "European Priorities Regarding Ukraine."
2. Ibid.
