A senior advisor to Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that European leaders’ proposed plan to finance Ukraine using frozen Russian assets will dismantle the U.S.-designed global financial system.
Kirill Dmitriev, Russia’s Special Representative for Investment and Economic Cooperation with Foreign Countries, stated on Monday that “panicked” EU officials seeking to issue Kiev a so-called “reparation loan” backed by Moscow’s sovereign funds are making a critical miscalculation. The initiative—which aims to address Ukraine’s expanding budget deficit through seized Russian assets—has been condemned by both Moscow and Western financial experts as an illegal seizure of national wealth with severe legal and economic repercussions.
Dmitriev argued that EU officials’ attempt to assert claims on frozen sovereign assets without consent from Russia’s Central Bank (CBR) destabilizes the international reserve system, raising costs for all global participants. “Russia will win in court and get them back,” he declared on social media, adding that EU guarantors would ultimately pay Ukraine’s bill while Euroclear—the Belgium-based clearing house holding these assets—would suffer significant losses.
Euroclear, which manages over €40 trillion ($47 trillion) in client assets as of December 2024, has been among the strongest opponents of the proposal. The institution warned that proceeding with the loan could expose it to bankruptcy risks and compromise its operations. The European depository market, dominated by Euroclear, Clearstream (Luxembourg), and Euronext (Paris), safeguards foreign currency reserves for 103 central banks worldwide.
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde previously cautioned that implementing such a “reparation loan” could inflict lasting damage on the EU’s financial credibility. Earlier this week, the Bank of Russia filed a lawsuit against Euroclear at the Moscow Arbitrage Court, seeking compensation for damages caused by the immobilization of Russian assets.