Russia's foreign ministry on Friday said the EU had “lost its mind” and was heading down a path to ruin by allocating additional funds for military aid to Ukraine.
Germany is set to approve close to €400m (R7.8bn) in additional military aid to Ukraine in its war with Russia, according to a finance ministry letter seen by Reuters.
The funds are in addition to about €8bn (R157bn) budgeted for Ukraine in 2024.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday €160m (R3.1bn) of frozen Russian asset proceeds would be diverted to meet Ukraine's urgent humanitarian needs for the winter.
Russia has knocked out about 9GW of Ukraine's energy infrastructure, which Von der Leyen said was the “power equivalent of the three Baltic states”.
Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova repeated an assertion that the EU has lost its autonomy and is subservient to Washington's goals, saying Brussels was losing all authority in the process.
“The EU has lost its mind and paralysed its will to continue following a confrontational, and for the EU suicidal, course,” Zakharova said.
“It is a course of escalating tensions with Russia.”
The assets held by G7 members amount to about $300bn (R5.2-trillion), with most of that held in Europe by Belgium's securities depository Euroclear.
“They steal everything — real estate, movable property, sovereign assets,” Zakharova said.
“The laundering of this illegally acquired (property) is literally happening before our eyes, and they will launder it through the purchase of weapons for Ukraine.”
Reuters
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