$300 billion of frozen Russian assets: PACE calls for transfer to Ukraine's reconstruction

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on April 16 backed a resolution calling for the transfer of $300 billion in frozen Russian state assets to Ukraine, according to a member of the Ukrainian delegation to PACE, MP Yevheniya Kravchuk.

The adopted document calls for:

→ the creation of an international compensation mechanism under the auspices of the Council of Europe for comprehensive compensation for damage caused to individuals and legal entities, including Ukraine, as a result of Russian aggression;
→ active cooperation of states in the fastest possible transfer of existing Russian assets to the created international compensation mechanism, in particular for their use in the restoration of Ukraine;
→ the creation of an international trust fund to which all Russian state assets will be transferred for storage;
→ the creation of an impartial and effective international commission to consider claims filed by Ukraine and affected parties, as well as individuals and legal entities seeking compensation for damage caused by Russian aggression.

Kravchuk said that it was also possible to adopt amendments, among them:

→ a call on Council of Europe member states and non-member states to join the Register of Damages if they have not already done so;
→ a proposal for member states to include in the scope of the future international compensation mechanism damages caused by Russia even before the full-scale invasion – starting with the aggression in 2014.

She noted that PACE recognizes that "Russian politicians, propagandists, oligarchs, and other war collaborators have accumulated significant wealth through their close ties to Putin's regime."

"To ensure the personal responsibility of such individuals – their assets should be frozen, confiscated, and directed to the restoration of Ukraine," she said.