On the weekend of Feb. 24, 2022, when Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops and tanks into Ukraine and unleashed missiles on Kyiv, the United States and European officials scrambled to freeze about $300 billion in Russian sovereign assets — the largest financial seizure in history, according to a Washington Post report published Thursday.
Their goal: prevent Moscow from pulling the money out as soon as markets reopened.
Most of those frozen assets — about $200 billion — are held in Belgium through the securities depository institution Euroclear, according to the report.
For years, Western officials and the governments of the 27-nation European Union have debated how to tap this trove to support Ukraine, even as they committed tens of billions of taxpayer dollars to weapons and economic aid.
The challenge: transferring principal is laden with risk. Officials flagged concerns that outright use of the funds could set a dangerous precedent, scare off investors (including other sovereign depositors), destabilize financial markets, expose Belgium to lawsuits, and trigger retaliation from Russia, the Post reported.
Until now, only the interest on the frozen assets has been used — enough to back a roughly $50 billion loan from the Group of Seven, or G7, to Kyiv, the report said.
But the environment is changing. The Post reports that with President Donald Trump pulling back on U.S. financial aid to Ukraine, increasing fatigue among European voters and politicians, and Ukraine's position on the battlefield deteriorating, EU leaders believe they have little choice but to act.
"There is no alternative. They need money," senior fellow Jacob Kirkegaard of the Peterson Institute for International Economics told the Post.
The proposed mechanism: rather than outright confiscation, the EU plans to offer Ukraine a "reparation loan" backed by the frozen assets — meaning Kyiv would only have to repay if Russia eventually pays war reparations. Until then, the principal stays frozen, sanctions remain in place, and nobody is repaid.
Still, hurdles remain. Belgium's Prime Minister Bart De Wever expressed strong reservations, demanding legal guarantees and shared liability before allowing the funds held in his country to be used, according to the report.
"There is a big risk. ... So if you want to do this, we will have to do this all together," De Wever told reporters Thursday. "If not, I will do everything in my power … to stop this decision."
The European Central Bank and other capitals likewise want a cohesive, unanimous approach so that risk is distributed across all asset-holding nations.
Russia has responded angrily, warning that the scheme amounts to theft and threatening retaliation. Meanwhile, Ukraine estimates it needs around $60 billion just to plug budget gaps over the next two years, not counting additional military needs — meaning the pressure on Europe to deliver is immense.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.