The US has given $20bn (£15bn) to Ukraine, funded by the profits of seized Russian assets.
The $20bn will give the country “a critical infusion of support” as it defends itself “against an unprovoked war of aggression,” Yellen said in a statement on Tuesday.
The US Treasury said on Tuesday that it had transferred the $20bn to a World Bank fund, where it will be available for Ukraine to draw from. Money handled by the World Bank cannot be used for military purposes.
There were months of delay, amid political wrangling in the House of Representatives, before $61bn of the military aid for Ukraine was approved in April.
The economic support forms a significant part of a $50bn (£39bn) package agreed by G7 member nations announced in June.
It follows months of discussion among the US and its allies, including the EU, on how to use the approximately $325bn (£276bn) worth of assets that were frozen since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022.
In October, the G7 agreed to use the interest generated by the assets – around $3bn (£2.4bn) a year – to fund $50bn in credit over 30 years. Payments were expected to start by the end of the year.
The EU has committed more than €18bn (£15bn) funded in the same way.
The $50bn is intended to ensure Ukraine has “the resources it needs to sustain emergency services, hospitals, and other foundations of its brave resistance,” Yellen said.
It comes at a critical juncture for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s forces, who have been ceding territory recently.
Moscow has been retaking ground in eastern Ukraine and in Russia’s Kursk – which Ukrainian forces launched an offensive in over the summer – while Ukrainian troops have painted a dismal picture of the war’s frontlines.
Source: BBC News