MOSCOW (Xinhua) - Russia considers the European Union’s idea to transfer revenue generated by frozen Russian assets to Ukraine illegal and a theft, the Kremlin said on Thursday.
“We have repeatedly assessed these actions, we believe that they are illegal, we really believe that this is theft and we treat it accordingly. Nothing is changing in our position here either,” said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
Earlier in the day, Vladislav Maslennikov, director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Department for European Affairs, said the EU has transferred 8 billion euros ($9.1 billion) in revenues from frozen Russian assets to Ukraine since 2024.
Maslennikov told Russia’s state-owned RIA Novosti news agency that over the past two years, the EU has been seizing profits from the reinvestment of Bank of Russia reserves frozen at the Belgium-based depository Euroclear.
On Friday, European Union member countries have agreed a deal to release €6.6 billion ($7.5 billion) in EU funds linked to military aid for Ukraine, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said.
The money will come from the European Peace Facility, a fund used by EU members to finance military aid to countries outside the bloc. It also refunds EU governments for military aid they have provided.
Of the released funds, €900 million will go to the EU’s military assistance mission for Ukraine and €1 billion will fund new joint procurement of equipment, Kallas said in a post on X. She added the remaining €4.7 billion will go to reimburse member states, some of whom have already said they would channel their share to Ukraine.