Estonia Develops Legal Decision on Use of Russian Assets to Support Ukraine

The Estonian government has approved the principles of using Russia's frozen assets to support Ukraine.

As Estonian news outlet ERR reports, Estonia is the first European country to develop such a legal solution.

"The European Union is working on finding this legal option, but we have prepared a legal solution under which we can use the frozen assets of Russia as an aggressor country and use them as compensation for the needs of Ukraine's recovery," Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsakhkna said.

Tsakhkna said that the Foreign Ministry will soon submit a draft amendment to the law for the government's consideration.

Globally, a similar measure has also been developed – in Canada, for example. And in the United States, a bill has been officially registered to confiscate and transfer Russian assets to Ukraine as reparations for damage from the war started by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that this is a significant international step. Zelenskyy also called for the confiscation of money from the Russian elite in other countries.

"The Russian ruling class does not value people and is ready to throw away hundreds of thousands of human lives. But they feel sorry for money – stolen money, by the way. They value their property. They must be completely deprived of it and transfer the money for the benefit of those who suffered as a result of Russian aggression, as a result of this war on terror, for the benefit of our country and our people," Zelenskyy said.

The European Commission has confirmed that it has developed legally acceptable options for using Russia's assets, both private and state-owned, to rebuild Ukraine.

As of now, the assets of Russian individuals and legal entities under EU sanctions worth about €24.1 billion have been frozen in the European Union. The sanctions do not provide for the confiscation of these assets, as this would violate the law.