EC says 'creative' use of Russian assets to help Ukraine

The European Union (EU) is working on the "most creative" use of Russian frozen assets to provide aid to Ukraine. This was stated by the head of the European Commission (EC), Ursula von der Leyen, on February 4.

"It is incredibly important that the member states (EU. - Ed.) extended the freeze on Russian assets. Now we can continue to work on the most creative use of these assets to support Ukraine's struggle," von der Leyen said during a conference before EU ambassadors in Brussels.

She said EU member states must show the Kremlin that the longer the armed conflict in Ukraine goes on, the "higher the price for Russia will be for it."

"Our 16th package of sanctions is on its way. The phase-out of Russian fossil fuels must continue," the EC chief said.

Sanctions phenomenon: Russia will enshrine in law the seizure of foreign assets

Such changes have been agreed upon by the relevant agencies - how will the mechanism differ from the current one?

Earlier, on January 24, Valerie Urben, CEO of Euroclear depository Valerie Urben said that the confiscation of Russian assets could lead to "unintended consequences" for the EU. According to him, Russia may introduce retaliatory measures.

Before that, on January 10, the EU transferred €3bn to Ukraine in the form of a tranche of a loan from the Group of Seven (G7) against the proceeds from the reinvestment of frozen Russian assets. In total, the initiative envisages the allocation of $50bn to Ukraine, $20 of which is to be provided by the European Union.

On December 25 last year, the deputy chairman of the Federation Council (SF) Committee on International Affairs, Andrei Klimov, called for launching an inspection and initiating civil and criminal proceedings after the transfer to Ukraine

Prior to that, last November 7, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (term expired in May 2024) said that the Russian assets were Ukrainian money.

Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Kiev amid 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. Western countries soon approved the decision to freeze the assets of the Russian Central Bank.