EU’s Kallas: Russia won’t get frozen assets back before reparations
Kaya Callas (Photo: EPA / CHRISTOPHE PETIT TESSON)

Frozen Russian assets will not be returned to Moscow until it pays reparations to Ukraine for the damage caused by the war, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas said on Saturday ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers.; Назва суду Східний апеляційний господарський суд

"We are going to have a deep dive into the frozen assets issue. There are pros and cons. There are some sensitivities regarding this, but we really have to have argument and debate about this. What are the risks, because we can't possibly imagine, we have to have an exit strategy, we can't possibly imagine that if there is a ceasefire or a peace deal, that these assets are given back to Russia if they haven't paid for the reparations," Kallas said.

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According to Reuters, about €210 billion of Russian assets remain frozen in accounts within the European Union.

Ukraine and several EU member states — including Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia — have urged Brussels to confiscate these funds and channel them directly to support Ukraine.

However, larger powers such as France and Germany, as well as Belgium, which holds the bulk of the assets through Euroclear, have resisted these calls. They question whether there is sufficient legal basis to justify outright confiscation.

  • According to Politico, EU ministers at today’s meeting will for the first time consider a new plan for handling Russia’s frozen assets. It involves the creation of a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to which the funds would be transferred and invested in higher-yield but riskier instruments.
  • Even this proposal has faced pushback. Valérie Urbain, CEO of Euroclear, warned that Moscow would regard such a move as expropriation, potentially triggering an aggressive response and undermining Euroclear’s position.