Save the Children calls on UK Government to free proceeds from sale of Chelsea Football Club to help victims of Ukrai
London, 21st February 2025 - With the third anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine on 24th February 2025, Save the Children is calling on the UK Government to release Ukraine's missing billions.
We’re asking the question – where is the missing Ukraine money? Have you seen it? Because we haven’t – and neither have the children of Ukraine.
In June 2022, Chelsea Football Club was sold by its owner Roman Abramovich for £2.3 billion. This money is required to be spent on humanitarian purposes, helping all victims of the war in Ukraine, wherever they are in the world. But since then it’s been sitting gathering dust (and interest), while Ukrainian children suffered the worst effects of the conflict. Imagine how the money could have been spent supporting children with education, housing or healthcare – let alone trauma counselling for children who have witnessed horrors no-one ever should, regardless of age.
We don’t know why this Chelsea Fund hasn’t been released. The UK Government says “it’s complicated” but despite being asked time and time again over the last three years, no-one can give a direct answer. What isn’t complicated is that the government is sitting on billions of pounds that should be helping children affected by the war. And they’re hoping no-one notices.
It is more important than ever for the UK to step up to support the children of Ukraine. The fund is worth almost five times more than the UK’s total aid to Ukraine since 2022. Releasing it would help millions of people without spending a single penny of UK taxpayer money.
Full scale war in Ukraine has been shattering children’s lives for three years. But the current conversations about Ukraine’s future are completely ignoring their needs. The UK Government has a huge opportunity to step up and release the missing Ukraine money to help millions of children survive and recover.
Why aren’t they taking it?
Ask Foreign Secretary David Lammy if he has seen #UkrainesMissingBillions. Share on Twitter/X or Bluesky
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If you have seen the money, or want to learn more about this campaign, please contact [email protected]