The bloc will eventually have to return the profits from frozen Russian assets, State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin has warned
The EU will face a “debt hole” for tapping profits from frozen Russian assets to aid Ukraine, State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin has said, warning that the bloc will one day have to return the money to its rightful owner.
Kiev’s Western backers froze around $300 billion in Russian central bank assets in 2022, most of it held at Brussels-based Euroclear.
While the EU has so far been unable to seize the funds outright, it has been transferring profits generated from the assets – estimated at €3.5-4 billion ($3.7-4.2 billion) a year – to Ukraine. On Wednesday, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas announced another €80 million ($92 million) tranche drawn from the proceeds.
Commenting on the announcement, Volodin accused EU decision-makers of being “prone to robbery and theft of other people’s money and property.”
“Once again, they stole the proceeds from our frozen assets. Which will have to be returned with interest – there is no other way!” he wrote in a post on Max. “Everyone involved in this, including Kallas, will end up in a debt hole. It’s damp and cold there. If any European officials think this is a threat, they’re right.”
Moscow has described the use of its frozen sovereign assets and related profits as “theft” and “state-sponsored piracy,” warning that it undermines the global financial system. It has threatened “mirror measures,” including seizing Western assets in Russia, and has launched a number of lawsuits against Euroclear. It has also criticized the Western financing of Ukraine’s war effort, warning that it only prolongs the conflict.
In his post, Volodin blasted EU officials for their “ignorance,” referring in particular to Kallas’ interview with RBC Ukraine released on Wednesday, in which she said Russia has attacked 19 countries over the past century – a claim she also expressed last year, though it is not supported by any verifiable records. Kallas claimed that none of these countries – which she did not name – “has ever attacked Russia.”
“Ignorance and theft are the hallmarks of today’s EU politicians,” Volodin wrote, adding that her remarks demonstrate “a lack of education” and prove that the bloc is “seriously short of qualified personnel.”
“After such statements… one is simply ashamed of those who appointed Kallas to this position. And one feels sorry for the citizens of the countries she represents on behalf of the EU.”
Kallas has been criticized over the accuracy of her public statements. Her earlier claim that 19 countries were attacked by Russia prompted Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova to accuse Europe of “deliberately promoting the inept and uneducated” to top government posts.
