The US has offered Ukraine $20bn (£15bn), financed by the proceeds of seized Russian goods.
Economic support forms a key part of the $50bn (£39bn) package agreed by G7 member states announced in June.
Funding the aid through frozen assets means Russia should “bear the cost of its illegal war, instead of the taxpayers,” US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said.
There are still weeks before US President Joe Biden will be replaced by Donald Trump, who has said he wants to end the war in Ukraine as soon as he takes office.
The president-elect has characterized Kyiv’s financial support as a waste of American resources, raising doubts about whether aid will continue under the new administration.
The US Treasury said on Tuesday it has transferred $20bn to the World Bank fund, where it will be available for Ukraine to take.
Money managed by the World Bank cannot be used for military purposes.
The administration had hoped to donate part of the money to aid the military, Reuters reported, but this would require approval by Congress.
There have been months of delays, amid political disputes in the House of Representatives, in the past $61bn in military aid to Ukraine was approved in April.
The $20bn will provide the country with “crucial support” as it defends itself against an “unrepentant war of violence,” Yellen said in a statement on Tuesday.
It follows months of talks between the US and its allies, including the EU, over how to spend an estimated $325bn (£276bn) in assets that have been frozen since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022.
In October, the G7 agreed to use the interest generated by the assets – about $3bn (£2.4bn) a year – to fund a $50bn debt over 30 years. Payments were expected to begin by the end of the year.
The EU has committed more than €18bn (£15bn) in matching funds.
$50bn is intended to ensure that Ukraine “has the necessary resources to maintain emergency services, hospitals, and other bases for its courageous resistance,” Yellen said.
It comes to a critical situation with the troops of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, who recently evacuated the area.
Moscow has become to start over in eastern Ukraine and Russia’s Kursk – where Ukrainian forces launched an offensive in the summer – while Ukrainian troops painted a bad picture of the war fronts.
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