NATO countries can give Ukraine remaining funds intended for Afghanistan — media

NATO countries are considering the possibility of using the remaining reserves from the fund, which was previously used to support the Afghanistan security forces, to provide support to Ukraine.

Politico writes about this with reference to five Western officials familiar with this issue.

These funds, known as the Afghan National Army Trust Fund, were used to purchase equipment and train soldiers.

Kyiv has asked NATO countries to consider redistributing some of the $3.4 billion to support its efforts to fight russia, two Western officials said.

The media outlet notes that the redistribution of Afghan funds mostly does not cause disagreements in the alliance. The money from the Afghanistan trust fund could be a temporary measure — at least in the short term.

According to one of the Western officials, NATO officials discussed the possibility of using Afghan funds for Ukraine for more than a month, particularly during a meeting in Brussels in October.

Funds have been frozen, and the alliance has been working on a mechanism to transfer the money back to individual countries or elsewhere, but each donor country decides how to use it. Some NATO countries consider using part or all of these funds for Ukraine.

The US is not a member of the Afghan National Army Trust Fund. But President Biden's top officials urged their European allies to continue helping finance Ukraine's operations, despite growing financial tensions.

NATO press secretary Daniele Riggio said that returning money from the account to the donor countries has already begun but did not directly answer questions about the fact that Afghan funds are being used by the alliance to support Ukraine.

The Afghan National Army Trust Fund is one of several similar funds aimed at helping Afghanistan that has been frozen, closed or repurposed since the fall of Kabul.

In October, it was reported that Lithuania would spend almost 3 million euros intended for Afghanistan on Ukraine's needs.