EU Proposes Using Frozen Russian Assets to Fund Ukraine Arms

The European Union plans to use the profits from frozen Russian assets in Europe to provide weapons and funds for Ukraine, as the country faces a shortage of munitions and U.S. efforts to secure new funds have stalled. The EU is holding around 200 billion euros in Russian central bank assets, with the interest estimated to provide around 3 billion euros annually. A small group of member countries, including Hungary, oppose supplying weapons to Ukraine, so the windfall profits would be divided up, with 90% going into a special fund for arms and ammunition and 10% into the EU budget to support Ukraine's defense industry. The plan has received support from most EU foreign ministers, and EU leaders are expected to endorse it at an upcoming summit.