The European Commission has proposed a plan to finance the reconstruction of Ukraine using frozen Russian funds seized as part of the sanctions.
“Russia must… pay financially for the devastation it has caused,” Ursula von der Leyen, president of the EU executive, said in a statement. “The damage suffered by Ukraine is estimated at 600 billion euros.”
“Russia and its oligarchs must compensate Ukraine for the damages and cover the costs of rebuilding the country.”
Russia’s central bank has seen around $300 billion of its assets frozen globally in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in February. Russian oligarchs have seen personal assets between $20 and $30 billion frozen or seized.
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The assets have remained untouched since that time, and officials from the European Union (EU), the United States and other Western nations have debated whether Ukraine is eligible for any of the funds.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen listens to questions from journalists as she attends a news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, January 7, 2022.
(AP Photo/Michel Euler, pool)
European officials have argued that a short-term option would see nations create a fund to manage and invest liquid assets from the central bank and use the proceeds – rather than the funds themselves – to finance Ukraine. This would see the assets returned in full to their owners once the sanctions end.
However, an official who spoke anonymously to Reuters said it was “not easy” to deploy an unprecedented scheme and would require “strong support from the international community”.
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“But we believe it is doable,” the official said, noting that the main problem lies in the fact that most European nations can only seize assets in the event of a criminal conviction, which has yet to happen but could happen in the near future.
The EU on Wednesday proposed setting up a special tribunal to investigate Russia’s alleged war crimes in Ukraine.
Rescuers cleared debris after an airstrike hit a tire shop in the western city of Lviv, Ukraine, on Monday.
(AP/Philip Crowther)
“The Russian invasion of Ukraine has brought death, devastation and untold suffering,” von der Leyen said. “This is why, while continuing to support the International Criminal Court, we propose to establish a specialized tribunal, supported by the United Nations, to investigate and prosecute Russia’s crime of aggression.”
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The European Commission’s plan for Russia’s assets bears similarities to a plan proposed by the United States for funds seized from Afghanistan, which would remain in a Swiss-based trust fund.
A body with hands tied with a white cloth, which residents say was shot by Russian soldiers, lies on the street in Bucha, Ukraine on Sunday.
(Reuters/Zohra Bensemra)
The commission acknowledged that it is “very early” to decide on the plan, which it will present to a G-7 task force in December.
Moscow has insisted that any use of funds is tantamount to theft and opposes their use in any form.
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The U.S. State Department did not respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment by the time of publication.
Fox News’ Caitlin McFall and Reuters contributed to this report.
