Kyiv turned to NATO with a request to provide him with part of the funds from the money that was intended to support Afghanistan. Politico writes about this, citing five officials who wished to remain anonymous.
The funds, known as the Afghan National Army Trust Fund, were used to equip and train Afghan troops before the Taliban took over the country. Ukraine asked to allocate $3.4 billion of this amount to confront Russia. According to Politico, the distribution of "Afghan" money does not cause disagreement among NATO countries, but questions arise within them regarding the amount of assistance provided to Ukraine. This problem appeared against the backdrop of fears of an impending recession due to high inflation and rising energy prices.
Money from the fund was frozen after the Taliban seized power. NATO has been working on creating a mechanism for their return, however, as Politico emphasizes, each donor country decides for itself how this money will be used. Some of them are considering transferring all or part of the amount to Ukraine. According to a Politico interlocutor, negotiations on this have been going on for more than a month. The publication notes that this money is not enough to help Ukraine survive the winter, but it could allow poorer NATO countries to increase their assistance in the face of economic difficulties.
Several countries have already agreed to transfer their “Afghan” money to Ukraine. Among them is the Netherlands, which deposited a total of $134 million into the account. They said they plan to transfer at least part of this amount to Ukraine. Lithuania also stated that it was ready to transfer $2.8 million of its "Afghan" money to Kyiv.