State Duma calls it barbaric to use Russian assets for Kiev's needs

The European Commission's allocation of a €18.1bn loan to Ukraine with repayment from the proceeds of frozen Russian assets is a violation of international law and barbaric. This was stated by the chairman of the State Duma committee for the financial market, Anatoliy Aksakov, on 28 November.

The European Union signed a memorandum of understanding with Ukraine for the first part of the €18.1 billion loan with repayment from the proceeds of frozen Russian assets earlier in the day.

"An absolutely illegal decision that contradicts international, and indeed any law, and it is obvious that we will have to answer for it," Duma TV for Izvestia quoted the deputy's comment as saying.

He emphasized that this is an act of disrespect to other states and such steps will end badly for Europe.

Before that, on November 7, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose term of office expired on May 20, called Russian assets frozen by the West as Ukrainian money. He also called for finding a mechanism to transfer them to Kiev as soon as possible.

Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Kiev against the backdrop of Russia's special operation to protect Donbass, which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022, after the situation in the region worsened due to shelling by the Ukrainian military. The EU soon approved the decision to freeze the assets of the Russian Central Bank.