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 caused,” Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the EU executive, said in a statement. “The damage suffered by Ukraine is estimated at 600 billion euros.”
“Russia and its oligarchs have to compensate Ukraine for the damage and cover the costs of rebuilding the country.”
The Central Bank of Russia saw around $300 billion of its global assets frozen in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in February. Russian oligarchs have seen between $20 and $30 billion in personal assets frozen or seized.
ZELENSKYY WARNS RUSSIA IS ‘PLANNING SOMETHING’ IN SOUTH WHILE AGGRESSION INCREASES IN NORTH UKRAINE
The assets have remained intact ever since, and officials from the European Union (EU), the United States and other Western nations have debated whether Ukraine can benefit from any of the funds.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen listens to journalists’ questions as she takes part in a news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris on January 7, 2022.
(AP Photo/Michel Euler, Pool)
European officials argued that a short-term option would see nations create a fund to manage and invest the central bank’s liquid assets 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 speaking anonymously to Reuters said it was “not easy” to use a scheme that is unprecedented and will require “strong backing from the international community.”
BIDEN ADMINISTRATOR PLEDGES ADDITIONAL $53M TO STRENGTHEN UKRAINE’S POWER GRID
“But we think it’s doable,” the official said, noting that the main problem lies in the fact that most European nations can only seize assets in the case of a criminal conviction, which hasn’t happened yet but may happen. In the near future. .
The EU proposed on Wednesday to set up a special court to investigate alleged war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine.
Emergency workers clear rubble after an airstrike hit a tire shop in the western city of Lviv, Ukraine, on Monday.
(AP/Philip Crowther)
“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has brought death, devastation and unspeakable suffering,” von der Leyen said. “That is why, while we continue to support the International Criminal Court, we propose to establish a specialized court, backed by the United Nations, to investigate and prosecute Russia’s crime of aggression.”
NATO PLEDGES UKRAINE TO SUPPORT AGAINST RUSSIA: ‘KEEP CALM AND GIVE TANKS’
The European Commission’s plan for Russian assets bears similarities to a plan the US has proposed for funds seized from Afghanistan, which would be placed in a Swiss-based trust fund.
A body with its hands bound with 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 “too early” to decide on the plan, which it will present to a G-7 working group in December.
Moscow has insisted that any use of the funds amounts to theft and opposes their use in any way.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The US State Department did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital by press time.
Caitlin McFall of Fox News and Reuters contributed to this report.
