Use Russian assets to blunt voter backlash over funding Ukraine, Kyiv says

BRUSSELS — The EU should use frozen Russian assets to fund Kyiv’s defense, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said, adding that doing so would counter claims from the far right and far left that Europe is footing the bill for the war.

“Russia, not European taxpayers, must be the first to pay for the damage it has caused and continues to cause,” Sybiha wrote in an opinion piece for POLITICO.

Using the assets would reassure “skeptical audiences across Europe” ahead of a year of major elections, Sybiha said, in a nod to votes in countries including France and Italy in 2027. In France, presidential frontrunner Marine Le Pen has vowed to end financial aid to Kyiv; in Italy, Roberto Vannacci is challenging Giorgia Meloni from the right and opposes continued support for the war-torn country.

The G7 immobilized roughly €300 billion in Russian central bank reserves in 2022, including about €210 billion in the EU — most of which are held at Belgian financial depository Euroclear. Belgium, backed by Italy, rejected an EU proposal late last year to use these assets to back a loan for Ukraine, citing legal and financial risks and fears of Russian retaliation.

The push gained fresh momentum over the summer, when Sweden, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain urged the European Commission to reopen talks and explore ways to overcome Belgium’s objections. But Belgium again shot the idea down.

Sybiha sought to address the Belgian concerns, saying Ukraine’s finance ministry had proposed placing the assets under collective EU control, making the decision to use them and any liability a shared responsibility.

“Belgium’s exposure is a reason to share the risk, not to do nothing,” Sybiha said.

Sybiha also rejected concerns that using the reserves would undermine the euro or weaken Europe’s leverage in future peace talks. The euro’s credibility, he wrote, “rests on Europe’s ability to defend order and principles.” And the leverage provided by the frozen assets “is not in holding the money — it is in spending it.”

He dismissed the risk of Russian retaliation against Western companies, saying Moscow had already seized control of European business assets, including Nestlé, Auchan and Metro. “Keeping the assets immobilized did not deter it,” he wrote.

Russia plans to spend a record €180 billion on its military in 2027, more than 40% above its 2026 spending, Sybiha said. He called on EU leaders to act this fall, warning that a delay would prolong the war and raise the cost of defending Ukraine.