On October 1, 2025, the debate over the fate of frozen Russian assets in Europe flared up once again. Brussels is considering the possibility of using them to finance Ukraine, which provoked a sharp reaction from Moscow. Presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov described the move as “robbery” and promised that Russia would seek legal protection of its interests.

After the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine in 2022, the EU and the Group of Seven (G7) froze about $300 billion in assets belonging to the Russian Central Bank and state institutions. For a long time, these funds remained untouched due to complex legal risks: international law does not directly provide for the confiscation of sovereign assets. However, with Ukraine’s growing financial needs and the protracted war in Europe, discussions have intensified about using the interest – for even the principal itself – for Ukraine’s benefit.

In recent months, the European Commission and several leading EU member states have proposed redirecting revenues from these assets to Ukraine’s reconstruction and the purchase of weapons.

Moscow views such initiatives as a blatant violation of international norms. According to Peskov, the use of Russian assets would amount to “legalized theft” and would undermine trust in the Western financial system.

Russia has already announced its intention to launch international legal proceedings and will likely take retaliatory measures against the property of Western companies and states on its territory.

Experts note that confiscating Russian assets would create a precedent capable of undermining the status of European jurisdictions as reliable financial hubs. Countries such as China, Saudi Arabia, and other major holders of reserves in Western banks may reconsider their asset allocation strategies.

On the other hand, proponents of the initiative emphasize that this is not confiscation but the use of revenues from assets, arguing that Moscow has lost its moral right to dispose of them after its “aggression against Ukraine”.

The EU’s decision will depend on the bloc’s unity. Germany and France have previously expressed caution, fearing lawsuits and systemic risks. However, the Baltic states, Poland, and some Scandinavian countries are pushing for tougher measures.

In the coming months, the issue is expected to become not only a matter of legal disputes but also a major political bargaining point between Russia and the West, where economic and legal arguments will intertwine with geopolitics.

Thus, the EU initiative deepens the divide between Moscow and the West and puts the principles of international financial law at stake. For Russia, this is not only an economic matter but also a symbolic one: is the global system prepared to allow a precedent in which frozen sovereign reserves are used to finance a war?

 

#RUSSIA

01.10.2025 10:46