Kostin: Frozen Russian assets should be used to compensate Ukrainians affected by Russian aggression
Kyiv • UNN
Frozen Russian assets should be used to pay compensation to Ukrainians who suffered from Russian aggression, as Russia must pay reparations for the damage caused by its war crimes, according to Prosecutor General of Ukraine Andriy Kostin.
The frozen Russian assets should be used to compensate Ukrainians who suffered from Russian aggression. Russia should compensate for the damage caused. Such a conviction was expressed by the Prosecutor General of Ukraine Andriy Kostin in an interview with the Voice of America, UNN reports.
There is a feeling that we are approaching the point where a certain decision will be made. It is difficult to say whether it will be confiscation, or whether it will be the use of frozen assets, for example, as guarantees against which funds will be received, which will then be transferred to the Ukrainian state, or, for example, to the register of losses of the International Compensation Mechanism, which is also already operating in The Hague.
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Kostin promised that Ukraine would submit a database of applications from Ukrainians who lost their homes to the International Register of Damages. He added that it is Russia that should finance the payments of the International Compensation Mechanism, which Ukrainians will be able to apply to in April.
The damage caused to victims of war crimes is caused by the aggressor country, no one doubts that. Unfortunately, a political discussion is beginning on how to do this. Russia must understand that these funds will be arrested until Russia agrees to pay reparations, or they will be arrested almost forever, and these funds will be used to pay compensation to the victims of this war: the Ukrainian state, Ukrainian communities, Ukrainian businesses. And this will not only be the restoration of Ukraine, it will also be an important element of restoring justice.
Kostin also noted that legally there are no problems with the confiscation process.
Each country that will decide on a particular option for confiscating sovereign assets must be aware of all the consequences. Our communication is very simple - from a legal point of view, there are no problems, it is simply the adoption of the relevant law at the level of each state that will allow the confiscation of these assets.
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Kostin said that during his visit to Washington, he met with the Kleptocapture Task Force, a special working group that is dedicated to identifying Russian assets. He noted the successes of the work in this area and announced new announcements of confiscation of private assets of Russians who support the war in Ukraine.
There have been many achievements on the part of our American partners - I would like to remind you that the first confiscation of private assets took place last year. This is just the beginning of this work. There will be more announcements.
The chief prosecutor of Ukraine also emphasized that this year the results of bringing Russians to justice for war crimes will be felt not only in Ukraine but also at the level of the international community.
I think that this year not only we in Ukraine will show the results of proceedings to bring Russian war criminals to justice, but you will also see the results of our international cooperation.