Authored by Victoria Friedman via The Epoch Times,
The European Union will use $1.62 billion accumulated from interest on frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine, the union's executive branch has said.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks during a news conference as part of the European Council meeting to discuss Ukraine, European defense, recent developments in the Middle East, competitiveness, housing, and migration, in Brussels, Belgium, on Oct. 23, 2025. Nicolas Tucat/AFP via Getty ImagesThe European Commission said in an Aug. 4 statement that the funds, transferred to the bloc on Monday, came from the immobilized assets of Russia's central bank being held by the Central Securities Depositories in the EU.
This was the fifth such transfer of its kind, with the seized assets having generated a total of $9.23 billion in interest.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that Moscow "must pay for the destruction it has caused. And we are using the proceeds from the immobilised Russian assets to make sure it does."
"We are making a further [$1.62] billion of them available to Ukraine. This will support Ukraine's continued resistance against Russia's illegal war," she said.
The funds are from assets immobilized under EU sanctions, which were imposed in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Billions FrozenThe majority of frozen Russian assets are being held by Euroclear, a financial market infrastructure group based in Belgium. Euroclear holds around $213 billion in assets, with another $29 billion held predominantly in France, Germany, Sweden, and Cyprus, according to figures quoted by the European Council in December 2025.
The EU says that while the assets are immobilized, the interest does not belong to Russia, with the European Council deciding the net profits should go to support Ukraine.
Moscow has previously called funds from Russian frozen assets that are given to Ukraine "stolen money."
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on June 24: "It is one thing when you are free to dispose of your assets and receive the interest stipulated by the agreement with Euroclear, while everything above that belongs to them. But you are still free to manage your own funds.
"When your assets are frozen and they tell you, 'You sit tight for now, while we make additional profits here and hand them all over to Ukraine,' this is a very serious matter from the standpoint of the West's attempts to convince everyone that the world order they created and that functioned through modern institutions of global governance - the IMF, the World Trade Organization - remains relevant."
The vast majority of the proceeds - 95 percent - will be distributed to the Ukraine Loan Cooperation Mechanism, which provides support to Ukraine in repaying financial assistance loans and loans provided by the G7. The remaining 5 percent provides funding for military and defense needs.
Russian SanctionsLast week, EU members agreed on the bloc's 21st round of sanctions against Russia, mainly targeting financial institutions, in a bid to weaken Moscow's economy and affect its war effort.
Von der Leyen said on July 23 that the bloc was adding 32 Russian banks to its transaction-ban list, as well as oil trading platforms and cryptocurrency firms.
The package also freezes the oil price cap for one year "so that the Russian war machine does not benefit from market shocks," she said.
In response, the Russian Permanent Mission said that "European bureaucracy, disregarding the economic costs, continues to pursue its course of escalating confrontation with Russia."
The July 23 statement said that the restrictions "will further aggravate the already acute social and economic problems in the European Union," which the mission said was due to the bloc's decision to drop Russian energy supplies and to continue to spend billions on aid to Ukraine, "all against the backdrop of instability in global energy markets due to the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East."
"We reaffirm that the hostile unilateral coercive measures of the European Union against our country will be met with an effective and due response from Russia," the mission said.
Tyler Durden Thu, 08/06/2026 - 06:30While almost one million people crossed the $1 million wealth threshold in 2025, that growth was far from evenly shared across countries.
This visualization, via Visual Capitalist's Bruno Venditti, ranks the 31 countries that added the most new USD millionaires between 2024 and 2025, revealing where personal wealth expanded fastest over the past year.
The data comes from the UBS Global Wealth Report 2026, which tracks individuals whose net worth exceeded $1 million USD.
The U.S. Dominates Global Wealth CreationThe United States added 441,078 new millionaires in one year, more than 10 times the total recorded by the second-ranked UK.
RankCountryNew USD millionaires (2024–2025) 1🇺🇸 U.S.441,078 2🇬🇧 UK43,139 3🇫🇷 France34,604 4🇪🇸 Spain32,707 5🇯🇵 Japan31,428 6🇮🇳 India31,033 7🇮🇹 Italy28,596 8🇦🇺 Australia25,089 9🇩🇪 Germany24,263 10🇷🇺 Russia21,951 11🇰🇷 South Korea20,227 12🇨🇳 China14,079 13🇹🇼 Taiwan9,864 14🇮🇪 Ireland9,491 15🇧🇷 Brazil9,215 16🇨🇭 Switzerland8,907 17🇮🇱 Israel8,803 18🇲🇽 Mexico8,724 19🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia8,718 20🇦🇪 UAE6,277 21🇹🇷 Türkiye5,650 22🇸🇬 Singapore5,240 23🇵🇱 Poland3,888 24🇿🇦 South Africa3,840 25🇬🇷 Greece2,762 26🇨🇱 Chile2,593 27🇭🇰 Hong Kong SAR1,891 28🇭🇺 Hungary1,349 29🇱🇻 Latvia1,131 30🇱🇹 Lithuania921 31🇶🇦 Qatar528Canada was not included in this year’s UBS Wealth Report for the ranking and is absent.
American households accounted for nearly half of everyone worldwide who crossed the $1 million threshold in 2025, underscoring the country’s outsized role in global wealth creation.
Strong equity market performance, widespread household investment participation, and resilient economic growth contributed to rising personal wealth.
Europe Claims Many of the Top SpotsEurope is well represented throughout the ranking, with the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Ireland, Switzerland, Poland, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, and Lithuania all appearing in the top 31.
The UK ranked second overall, adding more than 43,000 new millionaires, while France and Spain each added more than 30,000.
Although no single European country approached the U.S. total, six of the top 10 countries were in Europe. This points to broad-based wealth growth across several major economies rather than one dominant regional market.
Asia Adds New Millionaires Across Major MarketsJapan and India each added more than 31,000 new millionaires, followed by South Korea with more than 20,000 and China with more than 14,000.
Smaller financial hubs such as Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong SAR also made the list despite their relatively modest populations.
Asia’s results highlight two paths to wealth creation. India continued adding millionaires alongside rapid economic expansion, while mature markets such as Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong SAR, and Singapore generated new wealth through established household asset bases and rising financial markets.
To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on the world’s richest countries by GDP per capita.
Tyler Durden Thu, 08/06/2026 - 05:45* * *
Iran-Oman Route 'Agreed To' as Iran Warns Against US 'Interference'A statement from Iran's Foreign Ministry warns that the United States and military 'interference' remain the biggest obstacles to a final Hormuz deal to reopen the strait:
Esmaeil Baqaei: The geographical coordinates of the route proposed by Iran and Oman in the Strait of Hormuz have been agreed upon. If some third parties do not obstruct this process, the joint statement between the two countries is in the final review and drafting stage. The understanding between Iran and Oman, in itself, cannot guarantee the safety of the Strait for passing ships, because the factors that create insecurity in the Strait of Hormuz, particularly those stemming from the United States, such as the naval blockade and other aggressive and threatening actions against Iran and its interests, still exist.
Latest details from Financial Times:
Initially, Iran would send ships, including oil tankers, through the waterway to ensure it is free of mines before the strait opens to other shipping, FT reports citing sources
Iranian pundits and state media continue touting this as a 'victory' over the US-Israeli war of aggression:
Ali Akbar Dareini, a Tehran-based researcher at the Center for Strategic Studies, has said Iran is aiming to “stabilise” its control over the Strait of Hormuz, which is its “biggest military achievement of the war”.
“Negotiations are aimed at stabilizing those achievements,” Dareini told Al Jazeera. “You do not negotiate to give away your achievements but stabilise them.”
Once Iran opens up the strait, Dareini said Iran is still likely to put in place a mechanism to “ensure that peace will prevail”.
“Iran wants to make sure that there will be innocent passage … But there will not be hazardous passage, there will not be war,” he said, arguing that Tehran needs to ensure the US and its allies do not transport military equipment that could be used for attacks against it.
This also as Yemen's Houthis continue a 'siege for siege' blockade of Red Sea passage, targeting Saudi-linked vessels of Yemen's coast, as we described.
Thus far on Wednesday, the White House has remained mostly quiet on what seem to be Iran and Omani-driven talks for terms of the Hormuz Strait's reopening. Tehran, however, has not remained quiet - as US bombs have fallen silent over the past couple days:
And via Israeli media, though without official confirmation from Washington:
Approaching an agreement on opening the Strait of Hormuz, N12 reports, citing American officials; The signing of the agreement is possible as early as tonight.
Meanwhile, much of all of the above depends on what 'mood' Trump is in:
US military-intelligence leaks to media are designed to dissuade Trump from escalating his war (we’re out of missiles & interceptors, Iran isn’t; Iran won’t break, etc). Whereas Israeli intel leaks to media are designed to rile Trump into escalating the war by calling him a pussy https://t.co/Uu3wfmZX8r
— Mark Ames (@MarkAmesExiled) August 5, 2026 Trump: Deal Moving Along 'Very Nicely'President Trump said late Tuesday that talks with Iran are "moving along very nicely" - in a highly fluid and ambiguous situation where it appears the two sides are only interacting indirectly at best.
But the Iranian side has continued to insist that there are currently no peace or ceasefire talks happening, but only the Iran-Oman negotiations which focus on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and setting terms of how it will be managed. Consistent with this narrative, Al Jazeera freshly cites Iran's state broadcaster IRIB which reports that talks between Iran and Oman over the Strait of Hormuz "have nothing to do with the United States". But Washington is presenting it as a US-Oman deal for the strait's reopening, even if it fundamentally remains an Iranian-Omani proposal.
WANA/Reuters/AP images Timeline: Deal as Soon as This Week?Trump in his latest comments echoed his Treasury Secretary from the day prior, saying, "It could happen. Tomorrow or the next day." This was on the heels of traveling to Los Angeles yesterday for a fundraising event hosted by the Republican National Committee. "A lot of progress has been made."
He told Fox that the White House is now having "very good discussions" with Iranian officials as part of an "all-day negotiation" and that the Strait of Hormuz reopening "is going to be open very soon."
"If they back out again, they are going to get hit really hard," the president told the outlet. He had said the same by close of last week, but by the weekend reversed course and decided to refrain from attacking Iran again.
According to Bloomberg, "The US, Iran and Oman are preparing to announce a 60-day agreement on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz" - but the Iranian side has not affirmed this.
So as it stands, Tehran says it is driving the Oman talks and that Washington has been sidelined, while the White House claims that it has directly involvement in shaping the outcome.
Iran-Oman-(& US) Hormuz Draft Outline EmergesBut all sides do seem in agreement that the technical details and mechanics of the deal are currently being worked on. According to the latest outline of what this is expected to look like via CBS:
Under the current proposal, ships entering the Strait would use the channel closest to Iran, with Iran coordinating inbound traffic, while vessels leaving the strait would use the Omani side, with Muscat managing outbound traffic. The proposal also includes a "service fee," with the revenue split between Iran and Oman.
According to the source, the broad outlines have largely been agreed upon, with the remaining discussions focused on implementation and timing. Axios reported something similar, in which the US is nearing a Hormuz deal. Axios added that no tolls or fees would be charged during the 60-day period and the parties would work on clearing naval mines from the median lane of the strait within 30 days.
As for the claim of 'no tolls', this could once again be just semantics, given the Iranian and Omani sides have consistently signaled the need for fund collection under the headers of safe navigation, logistics, and environmental protection.
There has also been some progress on agreements for third-party demining operations. But as Rubio reminded the world yesterday, Washington still insists resolving the nuclear issue - something which the Iranians still say can only be broached after the conflict is ended and there is peace.
Below is the version of where things stand via Axios:
More regional commentary serves as a reminder of the significant obstacles that remain toward reaching a final peace, much less the full reopening of Hormuz Strait:
But while Iranians are saying that, at this point, talks are limited to Iran and Oman, it goes without saying that the US is a key factor. We’ve got a report from state TV today citing an informed source who said that even if a deal were reached today, the breach of the Memorandum of Understanding agreement by the US means there won’t be a reopening of the strait. One of the key points of concern for the Iranians regarding the strait is the removal of the naval blockade by the Americans. They have been constantly saying that this is one of the pre-conditions.
If Axios and some other major MSM reports are to be believed, the scheme is advancing on the Iranian side. "Two regional sources said Araghchi agreed in principle over the weekend but still needed approval from Iran's Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, and the Supreme National Security Council," writes the publication. "A U.S. official and a regional source said Iranian leadership completed its approval process on Tuesday."
An interim maritime arrangement, inside a Memorandum of Understanding, within a ceasefire.
It's a diplomatic turducken. https://t.co/WpXke2brda
If all the above comes into force, it will widely be seen as a victory for Iran. It will leave Iran with greater control over energy transit than before the war. Simultaneously this would be Trump essentially cutting and running in order to finally extricate American forces from the deepening quagmire, while approaching the six-month mark since Operation Epic Fury started.
For example, even the NY Times admits, "Iran and Oman are closing in on an agreement to reopen shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iranian and American officials, but if the accord goes into effect it could come at a high price — ratifying Tehran’s control over what, before the war, was an open, international waterway." While markets would breath a sigh of relief, Tehran would be in the driver's seat geopolitically.
US officials cited in the same report have only said the Hormuz scheme would the "temporary" - and so the ongoing contrasting interpretations suggest another tenuous and shaky agreement in the works.
"But if, ultimately, Iran asserts continued control over the passageway, the opening might come with a geopolitical cost. Iranian officials say they are designing the accord to ratify their capacity to control the strait and therefore retain strategic leverage that they did not employ before the war," the NYT also wrote.
Tyler Durden Thu, 08/06/2026 - 05:11By Tsvetana Paraskova of OilPrice
An old Iraq-to-Syria oil pipeline that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz could be up and running within three years, a senior Syrian official has said.
The Hormuz crisis that cut off most of Iraq’s crude oil exports has accelerated plans by Iraq and Syria to rebuild a damaged oil pipeline to ship crude oil from the Iraqi fields in Kirkuk to Syria’s Mediterranean coast.
The completion of the renovation of the pipeline from Haditha in Iraq to the Syrian port of Baniyas would take “three years at most,” said Youssef Qablawi, CEO of the state-owned Syrian Petroleum Company.
Syria and Iraq have started negotiations to finalize the contract, and are also in discussions with companies that will invest in this pipeline, the executive said, as carried by Iraqi news outlet The New Region.
“Engineering studies and the purchase of materials will then begin, followed by construction. Implementation will take between 30 months and three years at most, after which the pipeline will be ready,” Qablawi told reporters.
The project is expected to consist of two pipelines with a capacity of between 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) and 2 million bpd, according to the executive.
Last month, the United States voiced its support for the plan. The U.S. backs the Iraqi and Syrian efforts to rebuild the Kirkuk-Baniyas oil pipeline and diminish Iran’s potential to disrupt Hormuz traffic in the future, an official at the U.S. State Department told Reuters.
The United States also expects U.S. companies to play a role in the reconstruction of the Kirkuk-Baniyas oil route, according to reports. The pipeline would be crucial for Iraq’s oil exports not depending on Hormuz, Syria’s post-war economy, and reduced Iranian leverage in the Strait.
Iraq desperately needs export routes not depending on the Strait of Hormuz, whose closure exposed this key Iraqi vulnerability, forced OPEC’s second-largest producer to slash upstream production, and led to billions of U.S. dollars of lost revenues for Baghdad.
Tyler Durden Thu, 08/06/2026 - 05:00A one-way attack drone was discovered on the tarmac at Leipzig/Halle Airport, one of Europe's most important freight hubs. The German airport hosts transport company DHL's largest air hub and serves as the operating base for Ukraine's massive Antonov heavy-lift cargo aircraft.
Exklusive Aufnahmen – Das ist die Drohne vom Flughafen Leipzig https://t.co/1gO23uWA30 pic.twitter.com/dwqSD940Lc
— WELT (@welt) August 5, 2026The Financial Times reports that a transport jet collided with a suspected second drone during takeoff. Another drone was found carrying an improvised explosive device near Antonov Airlines' An-124 massive cargo jet. Five An-124s were moved to Leipzig after Russia damaged Ukrainian facilities in 2022.
🇩🇪 Russia planned a terrorist attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport in Germany
A drone carrying a package with a detonator and explosives was discovered near a parked Ukrainian Antonov Airlines cargo aircraft.
State and federal police deployed an explosives-disposal robot to isolate… pic.twitter.com/DrmER1Tmrk
"During the night of 4 to 5 August 2026, a drone carrying an unknown explosive device was detected by an airport employee in the security area of the cargo operations near the south runway," the Dresden public prosecutor wrote in a statement.
German counterterrorism and sabotage units are investigating the incidents as a national-security threat. Officials are examining whether there is a Russian connection, though authorities have yet to make the link.
Here's more from the outlet:
Russia was now at the forefront of investigators' minds, but they noted work was at an early stage and nothing concrete had yet been established. The incidents were being considered a national security threat, they said.
The drone found at Leipzig is considered a "Group 1" classification as it weighs under 20 pounds.
Courtesy of Piper Sandler analyst Clarke Jeffries:
We have warned that a serious Group 1-3 drone incident in the West is only a matter of time. Leipzig may be the clearest warning shot yet.
Western officials are already accelerating counter-UAS deployments around high-value assets, but the defensive challenge is enormous. Virtually every node of critical infrastructure, from substations and data centers to military bases, remains exposed.
Tyler Durden Thu, 08/06/2026 - 04:15