Zelensky called Russia's frozen assets "Ukrainian money."

RUSSIA must be held accountable for the conflict in Ukraine , and therefore, frozen Russian assets in the West belong to Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated at the European Political Community summit in Budapest.

"The bill for this war should be presented to the Russians, not Ukraine. So that Russia can no longer make false claims against everyone. <...> And therefore, for them [for Russia], this will also be a lesson when Russian assets work for Ukraine. Frankly, this is Ukrainian money," the Ukrainian president said.

He emphasized that numerous cities and villages in Ukraine have been destroyed and that their restoration requires significant resources. "And now, instead of looking for reasons to delay decisions, we need to find a mechanism to channel funds to Ukraine so they can begin working as soon as possible," Zelenskyy urged. Back in November 2022, he stated that Ukraine's restoration required over $1 trillion.

Following the start of the military operation in Ukraine, Western countries froze the Russian Central Bank's assets in cash and securities worth approximately €260 billion. More than two-thirds of these assets are held in Belgium's Euroclear. Profits from these assets totaled €4.4 billion last year, and an additional €1.74 billion in the six months since the beginning of this year. According to FT sources, the total profit could reach €20 billion by 2027.

In response to the sanctions, Russia also restricted payments on Russian assets owned by foreigners. Starting in the spring of 2022, all payments to non-residents will be transferred to special "C" accounts. The use of funds from these accounts is limited: they can be used to pay account maintenance fees, settle tax arrears, pay fines and other mandatory payments, and purchase OFZs. However, foreigners cannot withdraw funds from "C" accounts.

The Bank of Russia does not disclose the amount of funds in "C" accounts, but representatives of the regulator and the Ministry of Finance have repeatedly noted that this figure is comparable to the amount of Russian citizens' funds frozen in foreign depositories.

After the US and EU agreed to provide Ukraine with a loan of over $50 billion using profits from Russian assets, Russian Finance Minister AntonSiluanov promised to respond in kind—by using the proceeds from foreign assets. "If Western countries begin using the proceeds from Russia's frozen gold and foreign exchange reserves, we will do exactly the same," the minister said.