Ukraine proposed a new option for using more than €200 billion of frozen Russian assets

Ukraine has proposed to the European Union to change the mechanism for using frozen Russian state assets worth about €210 billion. Kyiv proposes to move the responsibility for these funds out of the jurisdiction of Belgium alone and distribute legal and financial risks among all EU countries.

This was announced by Minister of Finance of Ukraine Serhiy Marchenko. The Ukrainian government confirmed that one of the possible options is transferring management of the frozen Russian assets from the Belgian level to the level of the entire European Union.

The bulk of the frozen reserves of the Russian Central Bank are held in the Belgian depository Euroclear. That is why Belgium has been the main opponent of broader use of these funds to finance Ukraine, fearing lawsuits from Russia and potential financial losses.

Responsibility proposed to be shared among all EU countries

According to Marchenko, the new approach should create conditions under which possible lawsuits with Russia and the associated risks will not be solely Belgium's problem.

“The plan creates new conditions under which responsibility for court disputes with Russia will be shared not only by Belgium, but will become the common responsibility of the 27 EU countries”, — the minister said.

The Ukrainian government believes that moving asset management to the pan-European level would reduce risks for individual countries and bring closer a decision on using the Russian money.

At the same time, Kyiv is discussing with partners various legal options for changing the jurisdiction of at least part of the frozen Russian assets. So far, this is about finding a mechanism, and the European Union has not made a final decision.

The EU is returning to Russian assets once again

The discussion intensified after the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Sweden proposed to revisit the possibility of using frozen Russian reserves to support Ukraine.

According to the Ukrainian official, there is growing readiness among European partners to return to substantive negotiations and try to find a solution. Kyiv opposes the idea of keeping the assets solely as a possible tool of pressure on Russia in future peace talks and believes that Ukraine needs the funds now.

Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Vsevolod Chentsov also called on the EU to reconsider the mechanism. He acknowledged that the previous option was too ambitious, so partners may now look for other models and involve countries outside the European Union in financing.

Belgium has not changed its position yet

Despite the new proposals, Belgium continues to oppose a scheme that could effectively lead to using the principal amount of Russian assets.

Belgium's Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot said that the legal and financial risks that led Brussels to block the previous plan have not gone away. Belgium demands that, if the mechanism is changed, the risks be fully shared by all EU member states and that the country receive sufficient guarantees against Russian lawsuits or retaliatory actions.

Earlier, instead of using the principal amount of Russian assets, European leaders agreed on a €90 billion EU loan for Ukraine. However, Kyiv is now facing a new financing gap and believes that existing mechanisms may not be enough.

According to Finance Ministry estimates, Ukraine's total annual external financing need remains at around $50 billion, and the preliminary uncovered need for 2026 is $32.6 billion. Against this backdrop, the government sees Russian assets as one of the key potential sources of additional funds.

Based on materials from: Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, Euronews, Reuters