Assets confiscated

EU releases proceeds from Russian assets

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen continues to support Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky - now also with proceeds from frozen Russian assets.

(Bild: AFP/Stringer/UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE)

Despite threats from Moscow, the EU has now released interest income from frozen Russian assets within the Union to Ukraine. The money is to be used for the country's defense and reconstruction.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a transfer of 1.5 billion euros on Friday. "There is no better symbol or use for the Kremlin's money than to make Ukraine and all of Europe a safer place to live," she wrote on the short message platform X on Thursday.

Moscow speaks of "theft"
From Moscow's point of view, this is "theft". "Not only is this money essentially stolen, it is also being spent on buying weapons," presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said a few days ago. Russia will consider criminal prosecution of those involved in the decision-making process and the implementation of these decisions. This is "a direct violation of international law, it is a violation of property rights".

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov sees a "direct violation of international law".

(Bild: twitter.com)

According to the Commission, around 210 billion euros belonging to the Russian central bank have been frozen in the EU. The Brussels-based financial institution Euroclear recently announced that it had collected around 4.4 billion euros in interest in 2023.

Where is the money going now?
The money in question now is interest income from frozen assets of the Russian central bank in the EU. The proposal for the indirect use of Russian funds for Ukraine was made by Commission President von der Leyen and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell to the governments of the EU member states in March. It provides for 90 percent of the usable interest income from the custody of Russian central bank funds to be channeled into the EU fund for the financing of military equipment and training. The remaining ten percent is to be used for direct financial aid for Ukraine.

There are currently no plans to use the Russian central bank funds directly through an expropriation decision. One reason for this is legal concerns and the likelihood of retaliatory measures. Moscow had already warned the EU last year against confiscating the property of the Russian state or Russian citizens. It is conceivable, for example, that companies from EU countries operating in Russia could then also be forcibly expropriated.