The Ukrainian authorities intend to appropriate Russian assets totaling more than $2 billion, said Alexey Polishchuk, head of the second department of the CIS countries of the Russian Foreign Ministry. 

“In the spring of 2022, Kyiv itself allowed itself to take away private property from individuals and legal entities... 688 assets have already become sanctioned, including dozens of enterprises, corporate rights, residential and non-residential real estate, and vehicles. Ukrainian officials estimate their value at more than $2 billion. It is stated that the seized assets should replenish the Ukrainian budget,” the diplomat said in an interview with TASS.

Among the Russian property that Kyiv intends to appropriate are two An-148-100E passenger aircraft owned by the Russian leasing company OJSC Ilyushin Finance Co. In December last year, the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine filed a lawsuit with the country's High Anti-Corruption Court for their seizure into state revenue.

According to Polishchuk, such intentions can clearly be considered as “undisguised theft.” At the same time, the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs doubted that the proceeds from the confiscation of Russian assets would go to the budget of Ukraine.

“Given the rampant corruption in Ukraine, it is not difficult to guess where the confiscated funds will end up and whose pockets they will fill,” Polishchuk said.

  • Director of the Second Department of CIS Countries of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia Alexey Polishchuk

  • © Federation Council of the Russian Federation

The diplomat emphasized that such “voluntaristic decisions of Kyiv do not comply with international legal norms of property rights.” RT analysts surveyed share a similar point of view.

“Such plans are, of course, illegal. Apparently, Kyiv is now preoccupied with this issue due to the delay in financial assistance from the EU and the United States,” said Vladimir Olenchenko, senior researcher at the Center for European Studies at IMEMO RAS.

Signal to the European Union

At the same time, Kyiv does not intend to limit itself to the confiscation of Russian property within the country and lays claim to receiving Russian assets that were frozen by the West after the start of the SVO. According to the US Treasury, Brussels and Washington have blocked about $280 billion in Russian funds (previously, the department reported blocking assets worth $330 billion). Most of them are located in the European Union.

Moscow responded to this in a mirror way, blocking the money of investors and companies from unfriendly states in the Russian Federation in the amount of about $300 billion.

At the same time, as Prime Minister of Ukraine Denis Shmygal announced on January 25, Kyiv has allegedly already received certain guarantees from the United States.

“We have all the guarantees from the United States regarding long-term support for Ukraine - for example, the seizure of Russian assets to finance the restoration of Ukraine,” Politico quotes him as saying.

  • Capitol

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  • © Bloomberg Creative

In January, it also became known that the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee supported a bill providing for the transfer of Russian assets to Ukraine. At the same time, the document notes that any US efforts to confiscate and transfer Russian funds should be undertaken jointly with Washington’s allies and partners.

To pass the bill, it must be approved by both houses of Congress, and then the document must be signed by US President Joe Biden. According to Bloomberg, the White House generally supports this initiative.

However, as US Special Representative for the Economic Recovery of Ukraine Penny Pritzker noted, speaking on January 15 at a forum in Davos, it is still far from making concrete decisions on the transfer of Russian funds to Kyiv. She also emphasized that the implementation of these plans will not be a panacea for Ukraine.

According to Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev, such a bill rather plays the role of a signal for the EU.

“Without European support, the bill will not be implemented. Its development is rather a signal to the European Union, they say, here is a model law for you, adopt the same one. European officials understand that such a decision is too risky from a legal point of view, not to mention the negative consequences for the euro and the reputation of Western countries in the eyes of the world majority,” the politician noted in his Telegram channel.

Concerns about possible negative consequences from the confiscation of Russian funds are expressed, in particular, by the head of the Bank of Italy, Fabio Panetta. In his opinion, attempts to use economic instruments as weapons threaten to deprive the euro of its advantages in the world market.

Meanwhile, Moscow has already made it clear that it will respond to any attempts to illegally confiscate Russian property. “We will, of course, take measures if it comes to the realization of such threats, including those of a mirror nature, but now there is no reason to announce them, so that this does not become an additional incentive for the so-called thought process of our opponents,” the deputy head said Foreign Ministry Sergei Ryabkov.

“No real steps are being taken”

As analysts note, technically it would not be difficult for the United States and the EU to confiscate Russian funds, but Western elites rightly fear that this could undermine confidence in the financial system built on the dollar and euro.

“Here the question arises of trust in the Western financial system on the part of, in particular, the states of the Global South, China and India. After all, the confiscation of Russian assets will lead to the fact that many countries will begin to refuse the services of Western banks, fearing possible similar sanctions against them. Moreover, now there are alternatives in Southeast Asia and Arab countries. This factor is holding back the West for now,” said Evgeniy Semibratov, deputy director of the Institute of Strategic Studies and Forecasts of the RUDN University, in a conversation with RT.

  • Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergei Ryabkov

  • globallookpress.com

  • © MFA Russia

According to the analyst, the West is now faced with a situation where its political interests contradict economic expediency.

“The logic of their policy speaks of the need to confiscate these assets in order to show the West’s determination to stand with Ukraine to the end. In addition, public refusal of confiscation will lead to attacks from the opposition within Western countries themselves. But economic reality dictates the diametrically opposite: confiscation of assets will mean serious costs,” the specialist explained.

Under these conditions, the West still prefers to support a discussion about confiscation in the media, but not take real steps.

“They are activating this topic in the media space. From time to time, certain theses or other theses on this matter are thrown into the media. Thus, political interest is fueled, public opinion is satisfied, but no real steps are taken. The situation has remained in such a suspended state over the past two years,” recalled Semibratov.

However, the deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technologies and Communications, Oleg Matveychev, suggested in an RT commentary that, despite all the costs, the West may sooner or later violate the established status quo.

“In the West, political reasons sometimes take precedence over economic logic. After all, for example, Germany had previously gone against common sense by severing economic relations with Russia and refusing our gas. Now the German economy is experiencing serious difficulties. So common sense is now no guarantee that the West will not decide to confiscate funds. We can talk as much as we want about the fact that this is not profitable for them, that Moscow will also confiscate their assets in response, but they can still do it, because they have already shot themselves in the foot more than once,” the analyst concluded.