The EU plans to take 90% of the profits from Russia’s blocked assets to buy weapons for Ukraine

(Dan Tri) – Europe has proposed a plan to use profits from Russia’s frozen assets to aid Ukraine, a move that Moscow warns will respond.

Ukraine was heavily devastated by war (Photo: Reuters).

The European Commission (EC) on March 20 proposed transferring to Ukraine a profit of between 2.5 and 3 billion euros ($2.7-3.3 billion) per year generated from the bank’s assets.

About 90% is proposed to go through a fund to buy weapons for Ukraine.

The exact amount Kiev gets each year will depend on global interest rates because the profits are returns from about 210 billion euros of Russian central bank assets held in various currencies in 27 countries.

In addition to these funds, Ukraine is also proposed to receive the 25% annual tax levied by the Belgian government on profits.

As a result, the total financial contribution to Ukraine from frozen Russian assets in the EU is expected to total 4.0-4.5 billion euros this year if the Union countries agree to the proposal

European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said Russia must be responsible for the huge damage it has caused to Ukraine.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Kiev expected the EU and G7 countries to go one step further and confiscate all the money.

On the same day, Russia warned of retaliation if Europe carries out its plan to take 90% of the revenue from frozen Russian assets to buy weapons for Ukraine.

The Kremlin says such plans – if carried out – would damage Europe’s reputation as a reliable defender of property rights and lead to years of lawsuits.

`Europeans are well aware of the damage such decisions can cause to their economies, image and reputation as reliable guarantors,` Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

`Damage will be inevitable. Those involved in making such decisions will become subject to prosecution for decades,` he warned.

Meanwhile, Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, warned that Moscow would respond if the West confiscated Russian assets.

Russia has said it will take action against Western assets if their assets are confiscated.

Previously, Russia repeatedly warned that it would `retaliate, tit for tat` with the West.

Mr. Peskov then emphasized that Russia had prepared a list of Western assets that could be confiscated.

After the outbreak of the conflict, the US and its Western allies imposed many sanctions on Russia, including freezing assets.

This Russian asset can generate an estimated billions of dollars each year for the reconstruction of Ukraine.