Frozen Russian assets worth $300B: Ukraine’s reconstruction costs much higher

The relevant statement was made by Ukrainian Justice Deputy Minister Iryna Mudra in an exclusive commentary to an Ukrinform correspondent in The Hague.

“According to the Third Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA3), which was conducted in cooperation with the World Bank, the cost of reconstruction efforts following the full-scale invasion was estimated at $486.2 billion at the end of 2023. Approximately $300 billion in Russian sovereign assets have been frozen across the globe, and they, as you can see, are completely absorbed by the amount that we need for recovery purposes,” Mudra told.

She emphasized that it is unfair to place a burden of commitments to support and rebuild Ukraine on the citizens of the country that has fallen victim to an act of aggression and its international partners, while Russian frozen assets remain untouched in the bank accounts.

“In accordance with the generally recognized norms of international law, a state that committed an internationally illegal act bears full responsibility, in particular financial, in relation to the state that suffered as a result of such an illegal act,” Mudra stressed.

In her words, the confiscation of frozen assets will show the determination of the global community not just to support Ukraine but to keep the world order based on international law.

“Bringing the Russian Federation to international legal justice will be indisputable proof that the provisions of the UN Charter are not only declarative in nature, but are a fully effective and living tool for maintaining peace and security around the world. Instead, if autocrats and dictators see that they have nothing to lose by starting aggressive wars, then the future of our world is bleak,” Mudra noted.

The Ukrainian official mentioned that it is very important to transfer the frozen Russian assets to Ukraine, as it is primarily about Ukraine’s existence as a state.

“We need resources for defense, without which Russia will not just take over Ukraine but also destroy our identity. In addition, last week Russia launched the largest attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in the past 10 years of the war. Some of the damaged objects will take several years to get restored. We see that Russia is still capable of such strikes, and that we need billions of dollars to overcome their consequences,” Mudra concluded.

A reminder that EU High Representative Josep Borrell proposed to use the income derived from frozen Russian assets in Ukraine’s interest. If the EU countries support the proposal, the entire amount of such income will be directed to the EU budget and forwarded to Ukraine: 90 percent for military needs, and another 10 percent – for the country’s reconstruction programs and the development of Ukraine’s defense industry.

According to Borrell, the total amount of sovereign assets of the Russian central bank, which were frozen in Western jurisdictions, may reach $350 billion.