Russia refuses to compensate Ukraine for damages

According to RIA Novosti on October 12, Russia's permanent representative to the European Union, Kirill Logvinov, said that Ukraine did not receive compensation from Russia, because if necessary, they could use this money to repay loans from the European Union (EU), within the framework of the lending mechanism for Kiev developed by the EU.

“If the resources available within the framework of this mechanism are not enough, the European Commission will continue to confiscate from Russia. That is, they will continue to use the money, as they call it, the excess from the so-called emergency income in the management of Russian state assets,” Logvinov said on Rossiya 24, commenting on the debt repayment plan for Ukraine that has been developed in the EU.

If not, Kiev will have to transfer the money received as war reparations to serve and repay the EU debt, according to the Russian diplomat in Europe.

“If there is no compensation, then it will be the Ukrainians who will have to pay the EU,” said Mr. Logvinov.

In February 2024, Oleg Ustenko, an adviser to Ukrainian President Zelensky on economic issues, estimated the total damage Kiev would demand from Russia at $1 trillion. In 2023, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmigal put the expected compensation figure at $750 billion, saying that "the confiscated accounts and assets of Russia and Russian oligarchs should be the main source of compensation."

The Hungarian EU presidency reported earlier that the permanent representatives of the EU countries at the meeting on October 9 had agreed in principle on the mechanism for granting loans to Kiev in the amount of 35 billion euros - the amount obtained from the frozen assets of Russia.

Final approval of the texts on the credit facility, including the provisions described above, is also required by the European Parliament.

After Russia began its special operation in Ukraine, the EU and the G7 countries froze almost half of Russia's foreign exchange reserves, worth about 300 billion euros. More than 200 billion euros are in the EU, mainly in the accounts of Belgium's Euroclear - one of the world's largest payment and clearing systems.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has repeatedly called the freezing of Russian assets in Europe “asset theft,” noting that the EU is targeting not only private funds but also Russian state assets.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia will respond to the West's seizure of frozen Russian assets. According to him, Russia also has the opportunity to not return the money that Western countries are storing in the country.