'Changing the World' Ukraine Aid Fund in limbo as £2.3bn frozen from Chelsea sale Credit: UEFA 2021
World-changing Ukraine Aid Fund left more than £2.34bn in limbo frozen by the sale of the Chelsea football club, appeals to ministers to confront the EU over the delays.
Oxfam, Save the Children, Kiev charities and British families hosting Ukrainian refugees have also added their weight to calls on the prime minister to urgently break the 13-month stalemate.
Roman Abramovich initially promised that proceeds would go to «all the victims» of the war in Ukraine after Chelsea were put up for sale on March 2 last year, eight days before sanctions were imposed for alleged ties to Vladimir Putin. .
However, a huge fund has remained untouched in the frozen account since the club was sold at the end of May last year, in part because the government shares the reservations voiced in Europe.
< p>Despite selling the club entirely under UK jurisdiction, the bloc stipulated that the money could only be spent within Ukraine's borders. This stance, as The Telegraph can now reveal, has infuriated many leading humanitarian charities.
The independent foundation set up to manage the funds is being set up by Mike Penrose, the former chief executive of Unicef in the UK, who was ready start work from the end of last year.
«It's too bad we haven't crossed the line yet,» said Mr. Penrose, first talking about the delay.
In the post-Brexit situation, it came as a surprise to many in the sector that the government seemed to be so willing to support Brussels' demands.
“The government has made bold statements in the past when it felt that organizations like the EU were doing the wrong thing,” Mr. Penrose said. “We just hope they do the same in this regard.”
The humanitarian crisis in Ukraine has escalated over the past week after the collapse of the Kakhovka Dam caused a long-term environmental disaster affecting drinking water and food.< /p>
“It is clear that there is a great need both inside Ukraine because of the dam and outside it, where money is needed equally to help refugees, those who receive them, and those who are suffering due to the direct consequences of this war.” , he added.
The European Commission and the Portuguese government have been consulted about the fund, as Abramovich has held a Portuguese passport since 2021.
The Telegraph understands that the ministers were eager to announce that the funds had been disbursed before the Ukraine Reconstruction Conference in London this week.
«We still hope that the government is ready to announce it ahead of the conference» , added Mr. Penrose.
The legal obligations ensure that neither Abramovich nor Chelsea can ever benefit from the funds earmarked for the fund.
Amid the current stalemate, leading humanitarian charities have pointed to families supporting refugees in the UK and famine in East Africa due to conflict-related food shortages.
“That would be outrageous. find out that the UK government was sitting on this amount of money when people in Ukraine and elsewhere in the world are suffering,” said Pauline Ketcuti, head of policy at Oxfam GB.
“On the contrary, more than 28 million people in Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya and South Sudan are fighting for their lives, facing the worst crisis in living memory… Whatever the reasons for withholding funds, humanitarian aid must never be politicized and the UK must urgently do whatever it takes to free up those funds.”
James Denselow, head of the conflict resolution team at Save the Children, said the philanthropic sector was hoping some problems would be resolved. addressed «10 months ago, not now.»
He explained that the money can be absorbed fairly quickly by reconstruction costs, rather than urgent humanitarian needs, if the fund is limited by borders.
“More than a year has passed since the escalation, and this is a huge amount. money at a time of historic humanitarian need around the world,” he added. “A lot of this is driven not only by the war and its aftermath in Ukraine and the region, but obviously also in the rest of the world.”
“The Prime Minister must take over the EU”
Families in the UK that have taken in war-displaced women and children are now planning to lobby MPs. Kate Cavalier, 44, from Hampshire, is part of the Sunflower Sisters, a women's network that has taken in 14,000 refugee women and children displaced by the conflict.
“I find it incredible that the £2.3bn earmarked for humanitarian aid sits in a bank account unused, even though it can literally save lives,” she said.
Ms Cavalier, who supports the family on her own, added: «I would ask the Prime Minister to intervene, get out of this political impasse and try to make sure that this world-changing amount of money can be put into action now.» /p>
“It needs to surpass the EU so that it can be used to support Ukrainian refugees, whether through organizations like the Sunflower Sisters or others, because there is so much need for it.”
< p>Differences over the goals of the fund arose even before the sale of Chelsea was completed to a consortium led by American businessman Todd Boley. Sources close to the trial said Abramovich signed a deal with the government saying the charity would go to «Ukraine and Ukraine's aftermath.» However, in a unilateral statement, the government said last year. : «The Treasury will only issue a license that guarantees that such proceeds will be used exclusively for humanitarian purposes in Ukraine.»
Dan Pasko, co-founder of Children of Heroes, which helps thousands of Ukrainian children who have lost their parents, said the situation in his country is getting worse every day.
“It should be released as soon as possible. perhaps because what I see on the ground is dramatic,” he said. He said that only about five percent of the communities he works with have been able to get support from other NGOs.
Saleh Saeed of the Disaster Emergency Committee also echoed Mr. Penrose's position that the humanitarian need transcends Ukraine's borders.
«The humanitarian point of view is that we must all remain flexible and flexible to help meet the needs of those affected by conflict, wherever they may be,» — he said.
“What is less clear – and we see it daily – is that other appeals or other crises are vastly underfunded, and especially the most vulnerable communities and the poorest people in the world have been impacted by this conflict.
«Initially it was due to a shortage of grain, and now — with ever-rising food prices.»
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