From: Transform Ukraine By Douglas Landro / September 5, 2025
As the UK unveils £1 billion in military aid funded by Russian assets and Putin acknowledges gas shortages, European leaders finalize security guarantees amid growing divisions over troop deployments and Trump’s admission that peace proves more elusive than expected
Summary of the Day – September 4, 2025
September 4 marked a pivotal moment in the financial dimension of the Ukraine conflict as Britain revealed it had used frozen Russian assets to fund £1 billion in military aid—the largest such transfer to date. The announcement came as Russia’s economy showed signs of “technical stagnation” according to Sberbank’s chief, with Putin himself acknowledging gas shortages in the Far East. Meanwhile, European leaders gathered in Paris to finalize security guarantees for Ukraine, with 26 countries pledging support despite growing divisions over troop deployments. The day’s tragic note came from Chernihiv Oblast, where a Russian missile killed two Danish humanitarian workers clearing landmines, while Trump admitted that ending the war has proven “more difficult than expected” as his peace efforts enter their eighth month without results.
The £1 Billion Arsenal and Economic Warfare: Britain Turns Russian Wealth Into Ukrainian Weapons
UK Defense Secretary John Healey’s arrival in Kyiv on September 4 delivered the most significant financial blow to Russia’s war effort to date. Britain had used frozen Russian assets to fund £1 billion in military aid, representing the largest such transfer since the conflict began. The military support, financed through a £2.26 billion loan provided by the UK government, enabled delivery of hundreds of thousands of rounds of artillery ammunition, hundreds of air defense missiles, spare parts, and new support contracts for equipment maintenance.
British defense officials revealed they had delivered 4.7 million rounds of small arms ammunition during the previous 50 days, along with 60,000 artillery shells, rockets and missiles, more than 2,500 drones and 30 vehicles. According to The Independent, the UK has frozen over £25 billion of Russian assets since the full-scale war began, creating a substantial reservoir for future military support.
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, responded with characteristic vitriol, threatening to seize British assets in Russia and Ukraine. “British thieves transferred Russian money to neo-Nazis,” Medvedev wrote on Telegram, calling UK Foreign Minister David Lammy “the English idiot” and suggesting Russia would return seized valuables “in kind” through territorial conquest.
As Britain weaponized Russian wealth, Vladimir Putin faced uncomfortable economic realities at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, acknowledging that Russia was experiencing gas shortages in the Far East where supplying new enterprises had become challenging. Putin’s admission represented a rare acknowledgment of resource constraints in a country possessing 63.4 trillion cubic meters of gas reserves.
Voice of Ukraine 