Billions bill: What West doing with Russia's frozen assets and whether Ukraine gets it

At the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the total amount of Russian sovereign assets in the EU, the US, the UK, Japan, Canada, Australia, Singapore, and Switzerland exceeded $370 billion.

Most of the assets were in the form of bonds, bonds, and other financial instruments. There were also accounts in foreign currencies: euros, US dollars, British pounds, etc.

Amounts and interest - what Ukraine is already receiving

Official data on the size of assets is closed. Unofficially, the amount is about $300 billion. In Brussels, one of the largest securities depositories, Euroclear, has 180 billion euros (about $190 billion) on its books. In the United States - about $8 billion, and in Canada - $3.5 billion.

According to the deputy head of the Presidential Office, Iryna Mudra, Ukraine can claim $280 billion in Russian assets frozen around the world.

The issue of transferring this money to Ukraine has been discussed quite actively since 2022. However, due to the specifics of legislative norms in different countries, no positive decision has been made in any of them.

As an alternative, an option was found to help Ukraine through interest on the frozen funds. Every year, the assets generate some income. In 2022-2023, Euroclear alone accumulated €5.2 billion of such income, €4.4 billion in 2023, and €825 million in 2022.

In October 2023, the G7 countries decided to provide Ukraine with a $50 billion loan secured by the proceeds of frozen Russian assets. The funds will be disbursed to Ukraine until 2027 inclusive.

The US and the EU said they would provide $20 billion each, Canada $3.5 billion, and the UK and Japan $3 billion each.

But to date, Ukraine has received only $4 billion in proceeds from frozen Russian assets. Of this amount, the US received $1 billion in December 2024 and the EU received $3 billion in January 2025. The next tranches are expected in March. The EU plans to allocate $3.5 billion, while the amount for the US is still unknown.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the proceeds from frozen Russian assets would be used to produce Ukrainian weapons.

Frozen Russian assets will remain untouched for now

France believes that there is currently no possibility of transferring frozen Russian assets to Ukraine. President Emmanuel Macron recently said at a meeting with the US. President Donald Trump in Washington that the transfer of Russian assets to Ukraine is impossible because it contradicts international law.

Macron said that they were already using the proceeds of frozen assets to secure loans agreed at the G7. He mentioned that they had 230 billion of frozen assets in Europe, which were Russian assets, but clarified that it wasn't being used as collateral for a loan because it was not their property, and that was the reason why the assets were frozen.

According to him, the issue of Russia's frozen assets should be part of the negotiations on the settlement of the war.

But the EU is divided on the issue. The Baltic countries and Northern Europe believe that the funds should be immediately transferred to Ukraine. This position is also supported by:

• Poland;
• Czechia;
• EU chief diplomat Kaja Kallas.

Among the countries that oppose the transfer of assets to Ukraine are:

• France;
• Germany;
• Italy;
• Spain;
• President of the European Commission.

Those who oppose it fear that confiscation of assets could scare international investors and also deprive the EU of its biggest advantage in peace talks.

Meanwhile, Volodymyr Zelenskyy insists on the transfer of Russian assets to Ukraine. “Frozen Russian assets are our money. It is our money, not ours and our partners,” he said recently. The President of Ukraine proposed to use some of the money from these assets to fill the $500 billion fund that was supposed to be part of a deal that would transfer some of the country's mineral resources to Washington.

Against the backdrop of negotiations with the United States, it was reported that Vladimir Putin was allegedly not opposed to parting with some of the frozen assets, but only if they were used to restore the occupied territories of Ukraine.

Thus, it can be stated that no final decision has been made on the fate of more than $300 billion of Russian money. Most likely, the assets will remain in depository accounts and generate income, which in the future may be transferred to Ukraine in one form or another.

Earlier, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said that Europe should move from freezing Russian assets to seizing them. According to him, this issue is being discussed, but it is necessary to act quickly.