As of: March 5, 2024, 7:44 p.m
By: Lars-Eric Nievelstein
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Press
Split
Since 2022, the West has frozen billions of dollars from Russian actors.
These are urgently needed – by Ukraine.
The country demands a handover.
Berlin – On the second anniversary of the start of the Ukraine War, the federal government decided on a new sanctions package.
This included, among other things, the confiscation of around 200 people, institutions and companies.
In addition, hundreds of billions of euros in Russian central bank assets have been frozen.
Ukraine had once again called for the West to hand over these assets.
“Reliable source of support” – Ukraine demands 300 billion euros
“We need predictability and stability,” said Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal in response to the new demand.
The Russian assets could be a “reliable source of support” for the Ukrainian state and financing recovery, he argued.
He urged the West to act quickly because elections and political change could disrupt efforts to support Ukraine.
Finance Minister Christian Lindner in Berlin.
Since 2022, the West has frozen billions of dollars from Russian actors.
Ukraine demands a handover.
© IMAGO / Bernd Elmenthaler
This request is not new - at the beginning of February, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had already brought up the possibility of extradition of the frozen Russian assets.
“Everything should be confiscated and used for counterterrorism,” he explained.
A “unified and strong” decision is necessary, one that proves how seriously the West respects international law.
Europe should not take terrorist states like Russia into account.
A total of around 300 billion euros in Russian assets are said to be frozen.
EU is looking for ways to release funds for Ukraine
In the West, however, opinions differ.
Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) and Bruno Le Maire, his French colleague, suggested on the sidelines of a G20 finance ministers meeting that only income such as interest profits from the assets should be delivered to Ukraine.
The United States would rather confiscate the Russian funds straight away.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, in turn, spoke out in favor of using the profits from frozen Russian assets directly to purchase weapons.
“There could be no stronger symbol and no better use for this money than making Ukraine and all of Europe a safer place to live,” she told
AFP
.
The problem behind it: There were various brakes, both in Europe and among the allies across the Atlantic, that had drastically delayed current aid packages.
Here in Germany, the budget verdict turned the government's plans upside down, while in the USA, a Republican blockade ensured that a $60 billion (around 55.7 billion euros) aid package did not get off the ground.
Former President Donald Trump, who wants to run for re-election, has already promised several times that he would leave Ukraine to Russia as soon as he came back to power.
In more recent statements he even promised NATO partners in the Baltics that they would be left to fend for themselves in the event of a Russian attack.
The legal basis is missing
What makes it difficult for the EU to act is that there is currently no legal means for simply handing over the huge assets.
“We have no legal basis to confiscate Russian assets at the moment,” said Frenchman Le Maire.
The international community must not do anything that violates international law.
The EU's plan to only pay the interest is possible - complete confiscation is not.
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Russia is one step ahead when it comes to legislation.
A few weeks ago, the country introduced a law that allows people's financial resources to be confiscated.
This was reported by
Reuters
.
The only condition attached to this is that these people spread “false information” about the Russian military, calls for sanctions or other “treasonous” comments.
With material from AFP and Reuters