Should Ukraine get Russia’s frozen reserves?
How to make Russia pay for the war while upholding international law
Ever since the attack on Ukraine in February 2022 Western governments have made a show of clamping down on private Russian assets held abroad, from seizing oligarchs’ yachts to forcing the sale of Russian-owned football clubs. But there remains a huge question mark over the really big money. Some $300bn of Russian central-bank assets are frozen in Western accounts as a result of sanctions. Given the horrors that Russia has inflicted on its neighbour, the idea of tapping this pot to help compensate and rebuild Ukraine has naturally arisen.
This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “Should Ukraine get Russia’s frozen assets?”
From the July 22nd 2023 edition
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