President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Russia must pay a “painful price” for its war in Ukraine and frozen Russian assets should be utilized to help Ukraine’s fight against “terror.”
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) voted unanimously on April 16 in support of a resolution calling for frozen Russian assets to be transferred to a new fund for Ukraine's reconstruction.
The following is the April 9, 2024 edition of our Ukraine Business Roundup weekly newsletter. To get the biggest news in business and tech from Ukraine directly in your inbox, subscribe here. French billionaire Xavier Niel’s investment company NJJ Capital announced that it would be acquiring and merging two
There’s so much news and noise on the issue of using frozen Russian assets for Ukraine, so I thought it useful to put out a quick Q&A on the issue. How much money are we talking about? There are around $320 billion in Russian central bank assets currently
The exit measures implemented by the Russian government, combined with writedowns, lost revenue, and other factors, account for the staggering figure, Reuters found.
"We discussed further assistance for Ukraine from Estonia and other partners and the progress in the preparation of a bilateral security agreement," President Volodymyr Zelensky said, according to his Telegram channel.
At the same time, the EU moved closer on March 21 to finalizing a plan to use 90% of the profits generated from the frozen funds to purchase weapons for Kyiv and allocate the remaining 10% to the EU budget to support Ukraine's defense industry.
"I am confident that we can act very quickly," said European Council President Charles Michel.
The United States proposed to the Group of Seven (G7) countries that they establish a special-purpose vehicle (SPV) to issue $50 billion in bonds from profits generated by frozen Russian assets and use the proceeds to support Ukraine, Bloomberg reported on March 21.
While some leaders, such as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo backed the idea, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer publicly voiced opposition to the proposal.
Key developments on March 19: * Germany announces aid package for Ukraine worth $540 million * Anti-Kremlin militia claims fighting ongoing in Belgorod Oblast * Gunvor: Russia has lost 600,000 barrels of daily oil-refining capacity due to drone attacks * Shmyhal: Ukraine hopes to get enough shells by April * Borrell proposes using 90%
The remaining 10% would be allocated to the EU's budget to boost Ukraine's defense industry, Josep Borrell told reporters in Brussels. The official said he would submit the proposal to member states on March 20.
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that he and his Luxembourgish counterpart Luc Frieden would discuss Luxembourg's support for Ukraine and the potential future confiscation of Russian assets.
Kyiv would get an estimated 3 billion euros ($3.3 billion) a year to boost its defense industry and purchase weapons, according to Bloomberg.
According to Bloomberg, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul is working on a plan that would involve seizing some of the frozen Russian assets to pay for the bill.
The commission's officials plan to put forward a "legally robust proposal" for consideration by the member states, possibly before a meeting of prime ministers on March 21, the outlet said.
"In the case of the practical implementation of such plans by Bern, retaliatory measures by the Russian side will be inevitable," the Russian Foreign Ministry said on its official Telegram channel.
Ukraine may receive up to 3 billion euros in funds from the profits of frozen Russian central bank assets as early as July, the Financial Times reported on March 12, citing unnamed officials.
The Swiss government estimated in December 2023 that it had frozen $8.8 billion in Russian state assets as part of its sanctions against Russia.
The assets will be used as a surety for the payment of the reparations, U.K. Foreign Secretary David Cameron said.
Dmitry Kiselyov was sanctioned and his property and assets were blocked by Ukraine in January 2023 when President Volodymyr Zelensky enacted the decision of the National Security and Defense Council to impose personal sanctions on 119 individuals.
Ukraine is compiling a list of sites that Russia has destroyed to specifically allocate funds from frozen Russian assets, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said at a press conference on March 4,
Any plan to seize or monetize frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine can not be considered a substitute for emergency Ukraine aid that has been stalled in Congress, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in an interview, as reported by Bloomberg on March 1.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen urged members of the European Parliament "to start a conversation about using the windfall profits of frozen Russian assets to jointly purchase military equipment for Ukraine."
“It is necessary and urgent for our coalition to find a way to unlock the value of these immobilized assets to support Ukraine’s continued resistance and long-term reconstruction,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said.
The enforcement actions coincide with the U.S. announcing new sanctions against Russia on the eve of the second anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
A letter signed by international legal experts argues that the seizure of frozen Russian central bank assets to aid Ukraine would be lawful given Russia's "ongoing breach of the most fundamental rules of international law," Bloomberg reported on Feb. 21.
The transfer marks the second time the U.S. has sent confiscated Russian money to Ukraine, and the first time such funds have been sent to a foreign ally with the intent of providing aid to Ukraine.
Already this year, Ukraine could receive $4 billion from Russian assets frozen by the EU and the Group of Seven (G7) countries, Deputy Justice Minister Iryna Mudra told Forbes Ukraine in an interview published on Feb. 14.
The European Council said on Feb. 12 that central securities depositaries (CSDs) holding more than 1 million euros ($1.07 million) in assets from the Russian Central Bank must separate any profits generated from the primary accounts.
As Russia’s war against Ukraine continues to wreak havoc both regionally and globally, the Ukrainian people and their allies demonstrate remarkable determination and courage. But nearly two years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion, it is increasingly clear that the international community can and must do much more to
Ukraine may have gotten one step closer to gaining access to frozen Russian assets to put toward its massive reconstruction needs. European Union leaders on Oct. 27 expressed support for a proposal to use billions of euros in windfall taxes from Russian assets tied up in the West to rebuild
