Council of Europe chief explains where Ukraine's war reparations money will come from

According to Berset, the Claims Commission (an international commission to consider Ukraine's claims for compensation for damage caused by Russian aggression - ed.) will need several months to take the next step, as there is active involvement of the member states of the Register. Active consultations are currently underway between the member states of the Council of Europe.

"We hope, and we are working in this direction, to have an agreement on establishing the Commission before the end of 2025," the Secretary General emphasizes.

Regarding the financing of future compensation, Berset noted that this will be the subject of separate discussions between member states.

"That is exactly the discussion we need to have with member states. We must take this really seriously. The Register is already working very well, I would say. We have, as we speak, some 60,000 claims submitted," he says.

The Secretary General also added that the Register provides for 43 categories of claims, and the Ukrainian side is actively interested in cooperation.

"Your Prosecutor General expressed a big interest in working with the Council of Europe on the Register, because it could also play a role and make sense for Ukraine to be involved," Berset explained.

According to him, the discussions will also concern the possibility of using frozen Russian assets, but a final decision has not yet been made.

"There is a discussion about direct financing from member states... And there is a discussion about frozen assets. Concerning frozen assets, what I know at the moment, it is not clear until now whether there will be an agreement between all the states concerned," he said.

Berse emphasized that, despite the difficulties, the process of establishing the Commission is an unprecedented step in international practice and demonstrates political determination to support Ukraine.

"I believe that just because we don't know exactly what the final destination will look like, we shouldn't stop our journey," the Secretary General of the Council of Europe concluded.

Register of Ukraine's losses

The International Register of Damage Caused by Russian Aggression was established on May 17, 2023, during the Council of Europe summit in Reykjavik.

This is the first step in establishing a global compensation mechanism for Ukraine. Forty countries have joined the initiative, and an office of the Register has been opened in Kyiv.

In April 2024, the Register began accepting applications from citizens whose homes were destroyed during the war. Ukrainians can now submit claims to the International Register of Damage in 10 categories, and by the end of 2025, this number will increase to 45.

RBC-Ukraine has published detailed instructions on how to submit claims through the Diia app.