Confiscate Russian Assets? The West Should Resist
Using frozen Russian reserves to pay for Ukraine’s reconstruction is tempting — but misguided.
Not a piggy bank.
Photographer: Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP/Getty Images
With the costs of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine already exceeding $500 billion, some Western governments are pushing to use frozen Russian assets to pay for an eventual reconstruction. The moral case for holding Putin accountable is clear. Unilaterally diverting Russian assets to Ukraine at this stage, however, would create more problems than it would solve.
About $300 billion in Russian central bank assets have been frozen by Western governments since the start of the war, in addition to tens of billions in yachts, mansions and other property belonging to oligarchs and officials linked to the Kremlin. Advocates say that repurposing those assets is justified under the principle of “aggressor pays” — which is meant to punish states that try to redraw borders by force — and that funds should be released to Ukraine immediately, even with the war raging. Rebuilding the country’s bombed-out infrastructure would help stabilize Ukraine’s economy, encourage refugees to return, and boost public morale.