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The United Kingdom is prepared to move forward with utilizing the total value of frozen Russian assets to aid Ukraine's war effort, PM Sir Keir Starmer has declared.

In a joint statement, the leaders of the UK, the French Republic, and the Federal Republic of Germany asserted that this coordinated action would increase strain on Russian President Vladimir Putin and persuade the Russian Federation to engage in negotiations.

They further noted that the initiative would be carried out in close cooperation with the United States.

British restrictions have frozen more than £25bn of Russian resources since Russia launched its full-scale invasion against Ukraine in 2022. But, previously, funds provided to the Ukrainian government using Russian assets had exclusively been sourced from profits and interest earned on them.

Sir Keir told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that the United Kingdom, France, and the Federal Republic of Germany were aligned in their aim to push forward toward using the total worth of the immobilized Russia's state funds to end the war.

He noted that further measures soon would increase the strain on Moscow.

This statement follows EU representatives convened in Copenhagen recently to discuss utilizing immobilized Russian funds for a €140 billion loan to the Ukrainian nation.

In the previous month, President Donald Trump called on international partners to take or otherwise use frozen Russian funds, according to news outlets.

The worth of frozen Russia's assets in the Europe is assessed to be nearly €211bn.

President Zelensky urges UK's Sir Keir Starmer to take part in the PURL initiative

Russia carried out widespread aerial attacks throughout the Ukrainian territory on Friday, causing power cuts in large parts of the capital city, the city, and multiple additional areas.

Several persons were killed and no fewer than 20 people were hurt in the strike, the Ukrainian government said.

In a message on social media after the attack, Zelensky wrote that the strategic strike targeted public and utility structures.

"The necessity is not empty words but concrete steps - from the United States, Europe, and the Group of Seven - in supplying air defence systems and implementing penalties," he stated.

"All penalty impositions weakens the Russian war effort," Zelensky wrote, in a separate post.

In the same period, Zelensky told reporters he would encourage Sir Keir to enter the weapons procurement scheme, under which alliance members acquire arms from the America to provide to Ukraine.

While commending the UK's strong support for Ukraine, he said it should indicate firmly that it would participate in the initiative, as well as enforce further sanctions on Russia.

Major Russian Strikes Cause Outages in the Capital and Nationwide

• War in Ukraine
• France
• Germany
• Russia
• Ukraine