The European officials and Canada's Prime Minister are visiting the capital Kyiv on the second anniversary of the start of the Russian full-scale invasion in Ukraine.
(Photo by STR/NurPhoto via Getty Images)European leaders should discuss using the profits from frozen Russian assets to boost Ukraine's military in its defence efforts against Moscow, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday.
"It is time to start a conversation about using the windfall profits of frozen Russian assets to jointly purchase military equipment for Ukraine," she said in a speech before the European Parliament.
"There could be no stronger symbol and no greater use for that money than to make Ukraine and all of Europe a safer place to live," von der Leyen noted.
Crucially, frozen assets are, by definition, temporarily retained rather than fully seized with the ability for reallocation.
Persons:
Ursula von der, Belgium Alexander De Croo, Giorgia Meloni, Canada Justin Trudeau, Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, Ursula von der Leyen, von der Leyen, Von der, Janet Yellen, Russia's
Organizations:
Canada's, Getty Images, European Union, Treasury, . Security, Bank
Locations:
Belgium, Italian, Canada, Ukraine, Kyiv, Russian, Moscow, Europe, Kuwait