Japan to send billions to Ukraine using frozen Russian assets

Tokyo will shoulder 520 billion yen ($3.3 billion) in loans to Kiev funded by proceeds from Russian assets blocked as part of Western sanctions, the Kyodo news agency reported on Wednesday citing diplomatic sources.

The figure represents some 6% of the massive loan agreed by the Group of Seven nations during their summit in Italy in June.

G7 leaders reached an agreement on using interest from frozen Russian funds to finance a $50 billion loan to help Kiev buy weapons and rebuild damaged infrastructure.

Kyodo cited diplomats as saying that Japanese authorities would hurry to finalize the necessary steps to implement their share of the financial support by the end of the current year.

G7 finance ministers and central bank chiefs are reportedly poised to approve the loan package, in which the US and the EU each lend $20 billion and Japan, the UK and Canada lend a combined $10 billon, at a G7 meeting in Rio de Janeiro later this month.

The West froze nearly $300 billion in assets belonging to the Central Bank of Russia shortly after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. Most of the blocked funds are held in the EU, primarily in the Belgium-based depositary and clearing house Euroclear.