Ukraine's international reserves hit historic high of $49.52B in October

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Ukraine's international reserves rose to a historic high of $49.52 billion in October, the country's central bank announced on Friday.

This 6.4% increase was driven by significant financial aid from Western partners, which exceeded the National Bank of Ukraine's foreign currency sales and the government's external debt payments, it said in a statement.

Key inflows for the month totaled over $6 billion from Western partners, with the majority of this, $4.6 billion, coming from the EU through the G7's ERA emergency loan program, which uses proceeds from frozen Russian assets.

Other contributions included $1 billion from the World Bank, $394.6 million from government bond sales, and $117.3 million from the Council of Europe Development Bank.

Against these inflows, Ukraine spent $611.6 million on servicing and repaying its national debt, it said.

The frozen assets in question are approximately $300 billion in Russian sovereign assets frozen by the EU, US, Canada, and Japan.

The vast majority, about $210 billion, is held in Belgium's Euroclear, with an estimated $5 to $6 billion located in the US.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has warned that Russia would respond harshly if proceeds from its frozen assets are transferred to Ukraine.