The D Brief: Russia increases drone strikes; US troops attacked in Syria; Missing aviators declared dead; Trump’s radical view; And a bit more.
Defense OneOCT 12 2024
Britain is to loan Ukraine an additional £2.26B ($2.93B) in funds for its war-effort against Russia, it was announced on Tuesday. Ukraine, however, will not have to repay the loan — with repayment coming from interest on Russian assets seized by European banks earlier in the war.
The funds will make up Britain's contribution to a wider $50B loan — also using interest on Russian assets for repayment — agreed by G7 nations in June, and expected to be unveiled later this week.
G7 countries initially wanted to use all of the $300B of Russian assets held by Western banks, but this met opposition from the IMF who said such a move could undermine confidence in the global financial system and could face legal challenges from Moscow.
The purpose of this agreement is to give Ukraine the means and resources to continue fending off Russia's aggression, as well as to help it rebuild its country. Russia must have to pay for the damage it inflicted on Ukraine.
This is banditry and theft — pure and simple. The proposed step of using revenue from Russia's frozen assets to fund Ukraine in the conflict is yet another example of the degradation of how the EU is degrading its own standards and violating its commitments to international law.