Access to Russian assets requires legal grounds and political will - Pyshnyi

Ukraine needs access to Russian assets, estimated at $300 billion, to use these funds for defense and reconstruction, but this requires a political decision and legal justification. This was stated by the Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine Andriy Pyshnyi during a telethon, according to a correspondent of UNN.

This is not only about Ukraine's ability to resist until 2028, but also about the fairness of compensation for the damage caused. The amount of frozen assets is about 300 billion. Today, Ukraine sees this as a source of compensation for the damage that Russia has caused and continues to cause. A quick estimate by the World Bank as of the end of 2023 put the amount of damage at 500 billion, which means that the Russians' assets will not cover the losses in full

According to him, Ukraine expects that Russian assets will become another source of appropriate funds, which are very much needed for resistance and to compensate for the damage caused.

This will be Russia's response to the fact that it has carried out a full-scale invasion, is waging a bloodthirsty war, and must pay for it. And this will be the way to restore the international legal environment, but it requires legal grounds and political will

Recall

According to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, direct confiscation of Russian assets may be justified, but this is only one possibility, as the assets could instead serve as collateral for borrowing on the market to help Ukraine.

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