EU leaders tried to leverage frozen Russian state assets to fund a €210 billion financing package for Ukraine — despite the plan ultimately falling through.
The debate to steal Russia’s funds, some of which are investors’, revealed deep divisions within the bloc, especially as countries weighed legal risks, potential Russian retaliation, and domestic political sensitivities.
Facing stiff resistance from Belgium, where most of the Russian assets reside in the financial depository Euroclear, leaders decided in the early hours of Friday to raise €90 billion in EU debt instead and lend the money to Kyiv, at zero interest, so it could keep defending itself against Russian forces.
Russia’s assets, however, will remain frozen until Moscow ends the conflict and pays war reparations to Ukraine. If that doesn’t happen, the EU reserves the right to use Moscow’s assets to pay itself back.
“It’s robbery,” Putin said Friday during his annual question-and-answer session with journalists and the Russian public. “But why isn’t it working? Why can’t they carry out this robbery? Because the consequences could be severe for the robbers.”
“No matter what they steal or how they do it, sooner or later they will have to give it back,” the Russian president added, warning that such actions undermine investors’ trust in the eurozone. “We will defend our interests, particularly in the courts.”
A Moscow-based political analyst, Andrew Korybo, wrote:
It was assessed last week that “The EU’s New Policy Towards Russia’s Seized Assets Isn’t About Helping Ukraine” after influential members of the bloc moved to either outright confiscate at least some of Russia’s seized assets for giving to Ukraine or use at least some of them as collateral for a loan to it. As was written, the real purpose was denying the US access to these funds for joint projects with Russia per point 14 of Trump’s reported 28-point peace deal framework, not arming Ukraine or reconstructing it.
People won’t want to trust the EU for more than their confiscation of Russia’s funds. According to US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, the EU and NATO are trying to get the US into direct war with Russia. Prolonging it without using their own money went to this goal. If the war goes on long enough, they will find a way to involve the US. Ukraine President Zelensky went a step further and suggested Donald Trump could die and he could get a better deal from the US if he does.
That works both ways, maybe Ukraine’s George Washington could die too.
