The Ukrainian President demands that Russian assets seized by banks be allocated to the reconstruction of Ukraine. This is estimated at nearly 1000 billion dollars.
Volodymyr Zelensky took advantage of his time at the World Economic Forum in Davos to advance several issues linked to the war with Russia. The Ukrainian president notably requested that part of the Russian assets seized by the banks be allocated to the reconstruction of Ukraine.
Since the start of the conflict, nearly $350 billion in Russian assets have been frozen in Western countries. This idea has the support of Great Britain, which tries to persuade the rest of the allies.
“We have already frozen these assets. The next question is: what should we do next? And I think there is a legal argument, a moral argument and a political argument… when Putin made this illegal invasion, the world has changed and we must change with it. And let’s recognize that we are in a more dangerous, more uncertain and more difficult world and therefore we must be willing to think innovatively about how we use these resources to help Ukraine” said David Cameron, British Foreign Secretary.
His Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba added: “We need to freeze assets, not freeze conflicts. This is the way to go. This is the way to send a clear message to everyone: if you dare to break the rules, you will pay .”
Last week, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Washington’s proposal to use up to $300 billion in frozen Russian assets to rebuild Ukraine was an act of “21st century hacking”.
To continue its operations on the front, keep the economy afloat and rebuild destroyed infrastructure, Kyiv estimates it needs at least $1 trillion.
But the transfer of confiscated Russian money worries European bankers. This act could set a legal precedent that could undermine global financial stability.