Protests held in dozens of countries demanding Europe use frozen Russian assets
Ukrainians and supporters staged demonstrations across dozens of countries calling on Europe to use frozen Russian central bank assets to support Ukraine, while the EU has already backed a €90 billion loan for Ukraine using its own budget.
Demonstrations took place in dozens of countries, spanning multiple cities, with participants urging European governments to finally put frozen Russian assets to use for Ukraine's benefit. Protesters point out that Russian central bank funds, immobilized in the Western financial system since the start of the war, largely remain unused for supporting Ukraine.
EU budget loan versus frozen assets
So far, the European Union has backed a €90 billion loan for Ukraine using its own budget. This means the financial burden ultimately falls on taxpayers across EU member states.
Meanwhile, a much larger sum remains untouched: €210 billion in Russian central bank assets that have been frozen in European and other Western financial institutions since the war began. These funds currently sit unused, even though their total is more than double the size of the EU-backed loan.
Demonstrators argue it would make more sense to draw directly on these frozen Russian funds to support Ukraine, rather than relying on EU budget resources or additional contributions from member states. The protests spanned a wide geographic range, reflecting international public interest in the issue.
