Where are Russia's assets frozen and what has Putin allowed some of them to be transferred to?

The total volume of frozen sovereign assets, i.e. national reserves managed by the Bank of Russia until 2022, at the start of the military operation amounted to approximately $300 billion (these figures do not include frozen assets of individuals).

The exact size of the funds and their distribution among Western countries remains unclear. There are believed to be at least ten countries whose banks and other financial institutions hold frozen Russian reserves: Belgium, France , Luxembourg, Switzerland , the United Kingdom , the United States , Canada , Japan , Germany , and Australia . According to Reuters , such assets may also be held in Sweden and Cyprus. For some countries, such as Canada, only a possible value is known, based on expert estimates.

Russia is discussing with the United States the possibility of using some of the frozen Russian assets in the United States to rebuild territories damaged by the conflict in Ukraine , President Vladimir Putin announced . He explained that this would be possible after a peace treaty was concluded.

The head of state also announced that Russia is prepared to donate $1 billion from its frozen US assets to Donald Trump's "Peace Council." This is an organization the American president plans to create to resolve and prevent international conflicts, and approximately 60 leaders, including the Russian president, have been invited to join. States wishing to become permanent members of the council must make a contribution of $1 billion. Putin noted that the Russian side is still reviewing the documents and has not yet given a final response to the invitation to join the council.

The Kremlin clarified that the allocation of $1 billion from frozen Russian assets in the United States to the Peace Council would be possible after certain US actions, specifically the unblocking of these funds. "How this will be formalized legally is still unclear; it all needs to be discussed. Then, it requires unblocking—which, of course, will require certain actions from the United States," said presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov . He specified that the allocated funds should be used for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip and the resolution of Palestinian issues.

In early January, the American investment fund Noble Capital RSD filed a $225 billion lawsuit in US federal court against Russia, as well as the Central Bank, the Ministry of Finance, and the National Welfare Fund, demanding recognition of the country's obligations under Russian Imperial bonds issued in 1916. These bonds had a face value of $25 million and an interest rate of 5.5% per annum with a five-year maturity. In 1918, the Soviet government issued a decree annulling all foreign loans from Tsarist Russia. However, Noble Capital RSD claims that citizens of some countries (France and Great Britain ) were still compensated, while obligations to US investors were never fulfilled.

Russia denies its obligations under the lawsuit and demanded the plaintiff withdraw it by January 30. Deputy Finance Minister Vladimir Kolychev responded to the American fund's demands by stating, "The Soviet Union didn't believe it was necessary to pay, and the Russian Federation certainly didn't." Sergei Sokolov, representing the defendants in the Noble Capital lawsuit, noted that "neither the USSR nor the Russian Federation ever acknowledged their responsibility" for the debts of the Russian Empire, and these obligations "were long ago consigned to the dustbin of history."

On December 12, the EU Council agreed to an indefinite freeze on Russian assets. This freeze amounts to €210 billion, in lieu of the six-monthly votes on renewal. The freeze was intended to be part of a plan to provide a "reparations" loan to Ukraine using Russian assets, but EU member states were unable to agree on this measure.