Ukraine signs $3B deal with Japan to boost economy using Russian frozen assets

By Alperen Aktas

ISTANBUL (AA) - Ukraine signed a $3 billion agreement with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to support its economy and essential budget needs, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced Thursday, saying the funds will be repaid using future revenues generated from frozen Russian sovereign assets.

In a post on X, Shmyhal said the financing will help strengthen Ukraine’s economic resilience and was made possible under the G7-backed Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration (ERA) mechanism, which Kyiv says effectively forces Russia to contribute to Ukraine’s recovery.

“We are grateful to our Japanese friends and G7 partners for the #ERA mechanism, which forces Russia to pay,” he said.

“We continue working on an international tool to confiscate all frozen Russian assets for Ukraine’s benefit.”

The agreement adds momentum to Kyiv’s push for wider global support to repurpose Russian state assets frozen abroad since the 2022 war.