Europe announced that Russian assets will remain frozen indefinitely

The President of the European Council, António Costa, announced on the social network X the duration of the freeze of Russian assets in Europe. He stated that the funds will remain frozen until the Russian Federation makes payments to Ukraine.

The politician noted that EU leaders have pledged to maintain these sanctions until the conflict in Ukraine ends and Moscow finally decides to compensate Kyiv for the damage it has caused.

,,I can proudly say that today we have fulfilled an important commitment. The next step is to contribute to Ukraine’s financial needs for the period 2026-2027’’, Costa emphasized.

In a statement by the Reuters news agency on December 12 this year, Brussels agreed to permanently freeze the assets of the Russian Central Bank held in Europe, thus removing a major obstacle to using these funds to help rebuild Ukraine.

A day earlier, it was announced that Bulgaria, Belgium, Malta and Italy support the indefinite freezing of assets. In turn, Hungarian Eurosceptic Prime Minister Viktor Orbán expressed dissatisfaction with the decision, saying that Western leaders are placing themselves above the rules to prolong the conflict in Ukraine.

Earlier, it was found that the Bank of Russia filed a complaint with the Moscow Arbitration Court against the depository company Euroclear, demanding the recovery of damages caused to the Russian regulator. One of the reasons for the lawsuit was the European Commission’s intention to use the assets of the Bank of Russia without its consent.