EU pledges 1 bn euros of frozen Russian assets to Ukraine defence firms

The EU on Friday pledged to disburse one billion euros ($1.1 billion) from the proceeds of frozen Russian assets to Ukrainian arms companies as part of its support to Kyiv as it fights off Moscow's invasion.

"We have just made available 1 billion euros for the Ukrainian defense industry so that Ukraine could better defend itself," the EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas said in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. The funding would "directly support Ukrainian defense companies", she added.

Kyiv's EU allies also approved on Friday a tribunal to try Russian leaders for "the crime of aggression against Ukraine".

"We welcome the completion of the technical work on the draft legal instruments necessary to establish within the framework of the Council of Europe a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine," said a joint statement published by Ukraine's Foreign Ministry.