The head of Russia’s Security Council warned on Thursday that if the European Union used frozen assets seized to aid Ukraine, it would be tantamount to justifying war.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, has been considering how to use frozen Russian assets held in Europe to further support Ukraine.
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, said the move could be tantamount to justifying war, in comments posted on Telegram and translated by Google.
“If a crazy European Union tries to steal Russian assets frozen in Belgium by issuing so-called reparation loans, such an act could be classified as a special kind of war event under international law, and all the subsequent consequences could fall on Brussels and the individual EU member states,” Medvedev said, referring to a Latin phrase meaning an act that justifies war.
Russia has previously said it would retaliate if the EU forced it to use its asset freeze option.
The commission argues that the move is not theft, given that it is a loan and Ukraine will only have to repay if Russia pays reparations.
Russia and the European Commission did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for comment.
Freed up $105 billion
On Wednesday, the European Commission proposed a “compensation loan” to Ukraine that would involve leveraging cash from the balances of European financial institutions holding frozen Russian central bank assets. It also proposed borrowing funds from international markets, offering member states an alternative to using Russian capital.
Under the proposal to tap frozen assets, 90 billion euros ($105 billion) would be released for the effort, about two-thirds of the International Monetary Fund’s $136.5 billion estimate for Ukraine’s funding shortfall between 2026 and 2029.
“The strain on Ukraine’s resources continues to increase, with Russia showing no sign of willingness to work towards a just and sustainable peace, making sustained EU support even more important,” the commission said in a statement.
Until now, European countries have used profits from these assets to help finance Kyiv, but some European leaders have expressed concerns about further action, citing potential financial and legal issues.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner at the Kremlin with the aim of finding a solution to ending the war in Ukraine, December 2, 2025 in Moscow, Russia.
Kremlin Press Office/Anadolu, via Getty Images
Belgium has taken a particularly tough stance on the matter, given that it hosts Euroclear, the financial institution that holds most of Russia’s state-owned assets, which have been frozen in Europe since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Belgian leaders have expressed concerns about the legal ramifications after the war ends and want EU countries to commit to sharing responsibility.
“If the EU chooses to borrow money to help Ukraine, unanimity will be required. If the EU chooses to use frozen assets, a qualified majority can approve the plan,” an EU official, who did not want to be named due to the sensitivity of the topic, told CNBC.
Hungary opposes giving more cash to Ukraine, creating an obstacle to achieving unanimity on the issue.
Another EU official, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the negotiations, told CNBC that by offering two solutions for funding Ukraine, “the Commission wants to show that the only option is far worse for more member states.”
US promotes peace agreement
This comes as peace negotiations continue. The head of Ukraine’s National Security Council, Rustem Umerov, is scheduled to meet with US envoy Steve Witkov in Miami on Thursday. Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron is visiting Beijing on Thursday to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The French leader is expected to urge the Chinese leader to further strengthen cooperation on Ukraine issues.
Talks between Russia and the United States reportedly failed to yield a breakthrough on Tuesday, but US President Donald Trump said talks between his son-in-law Jared Kushner, Witkoff and the Kremlin went “reasonably well.”
It is unclear which peace plan has been presented to Ukraine after an initial 28-point proposal drawn up in secret by the United States and Russia was presented to Ukraine several weeks ago.
Speaking at the 2025 Investor Summit conference at the London Stock Exchange on Thursday, Kim Darroch, who served as British ambassador to the United States during the Trump administration’s first term, said: “I don’t think the war in Ukraine is going to end anytime soon unless the Ukrainians surrender and give up their territory and also agree to never join NATO. I think it’s basically impossible to make concessions and survive politically on this kind of thing.”
“So I think the war will drag on beyond the winter. This is potentially very dangerous for Europe, because if President Trump doesn’t get a deal, he might just go away and cut off arms supplies to Ukraine and say to the Europeans, ‘That’s your problem, I tried to get a deal, so you should too.'” And we don’t know if they actually have the ability to give Ukraine what it needs. ”
—CNBC’s Chloe Taylor contributed to this report.
