Zelensky calls for using frozen Russian assets to rebuild Ukraine

President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated Saturday his call on Western allies to use the approximately 300 billion dollars in frozen Russian sovereign assets — held mostly in European financial institutions — to fund the reconstruction of Ukraine. He argued that Russia should be made to pay for the damage inflicted on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure.

"Russia must pay for everything it has destroyed. The frozen assets are a tool that exists, that is available, and that should be used," Zelensky said in an online briefing.

Legal and political challenges

The question of how to use frozen Russian assets has been a major discussion point among G7 nations and the EU. While the West has agreed in principle that Russia should bear costs for the war, the legal frameworks for transferring the assets remain complex. The EU has already used profits generated by frozen Russian assets to fund military aid to Ukraine, but direct confiscation of the principal remains legally controversial. Ukraine estimates the cost of reconstruction at over 500 billion dollars.