Russian Special Representative Dmitriev is trying to save $280 billion of frozen assets – intelligence
26 May 22:09
Russia’s special representative for economic cooperation with foreign countries, Kirill Dmitriev, is actively working to avoid the confiscation of frozen Russian assets abroad, estimated at $280 billion. The head of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine, Oleh Ivashchenko, said this in an interview with theUkrinform news agency, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
According to Ivashchenko, Dmitriev is promoting initiatives aimed at reducing pressure on the Russian economy and focusing the attention of Western countries not on the war in Ukraine, but on long-term cooperation in the energy and resource sectors.
“Dmitriev is trying to convince the US to pay attention not only to the conflict in Ukraine, but also to the Arctic, energy resources, and rare earth metals. This is an attempt to move the Ukrainian issue from the forefront,” the intelligence chief said.
He also emphasized that the main task of the Ukrainian side is to prevent the focus from shifting from the war and to ensure that Ukraine remains a priority on the international agenda.
In April of this year, Kirill Dmitriev met in Washington with a representative of Donald Trump’s team, Steve Witkoff, to discuss the issue of establishing US-Russian relations.
Earlier it was reported that Finland plans to transfer ammunition to Ukraine using the profits from frozen Russian assets.
Why are $280 billion of Russian assets frozen?
After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Western countries (the US, EU, UK, Canada, Japan, and others) imposed large-scale sanctions on the Russian economy. One of the main decisions was to freeze the foreign exchange reserves of the Central Bank of Russia, which were stored outside Russia.
What exactly was frozen?
$280 billion is approximately the amount of Russia’s foreign exchange reserves, of which:
The EU froze about $210 billion (stored in European banks).
The G7 has frozen more than $280 billion in total.
Why were these funds frozen?
Financial pressure on the Kremlin: This limits Russia’s ability to finance the war against Ukraine.
Reducing the stability of the ruble: Without access to reserves, Russia loses the ability to maintain the national currency.
Potential reparations: These funds are seen as a source of compensation for Ukraine’s losses caused by Russia’s aggression.
What does “freezing” mean?
The money remains on the accounts (in central or commercial banks), but Russia cannot use it – neither withdraw it, nor transfer it, nor exchange it.
What is being discussed now?
Ukraine and its partners are proposing to confiscate these funds and use them for:
- Restoration of the destroyed infrastructure.
- Compensation to the victims.
However, some countries are hesitant because of legal risks – the final decision is still being discussed.
the $280 billion is part of the assets of the aggressor state that the international community has temporarily “blocked” to limit Russia’s military power and may be used in the future to rebuild Ukraine.
