Russia warns Europe: we will go after any state which takes our assets

Russia warned on Monday that it would retaliate against any European state attempting to seize its assets, following reports that the European Union is considering channelling frozen Russian funds to support Ukraine.

Since President Vladimir Putin launched the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the United States and its allies have banned transactions with Russia’s central bank and finance ministry, freezing between $300–$350 billion in sovereign assets, largely consisting of European, U.S., and British government bonds held in a European securities depository.

According to Reuters, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is seeking ways to use the cash balances linked to these frozen Russian assets in Europe to bolster Ukraine’s defence. Politico reported that officials are exploring the possibility of redirecting Russian deposits at the European Central Bank, generated from maturing bonds, to finance a so-called “Reparations Loan” for Kyiv.

Reacting to the reports, former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev wrote on Telegram: “If this happens, Russia will pursue EU states, the Brussels degenerates, and individual European countries that try to seize our property until the end of the century.”

Medvedev, now deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, added that Moscow would go after European states “in all possible ways” — through international and national courts, as well as outside legal channels.

Russia maintains that any seizure of its assets would amount to theft by the West and warns it would damage confidence in U.S. and European bonds and currencies.

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