On Thursday, December 21st local time, Russian Finance Minister Silvianov warned that if the EU continues to push for the transfer of profits from frozen Russian assets to Ukraine, Russia will take symmetrical countermeasures.
Siluanov pointed out in an interview with "Russia 24" television station on Thursday that a considerable amount of EU assets have also been frozen in Russia.
After the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict last February, the Western countries led by the United States froze Russian assets overseas. In response, the Russian side has also frozen some assets belonging to foreign investors and companies.
Siluanov said, "This number is not small, and the income from using these funds is considerable. If our unfriendly partners make a decision, we can certainly use these funds as well."
On December 12th, the European Commission officially launched a proposal to use the proceeds from frozen Russian assets to assist Ukraine.
Since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the West has frozen $300 billion of assets belonging to the Russian Central Bank, most of which are deposited in the European Settlement Bank in Belgium. According to the Belgian government, the Euroclear manages approximately 180 billion euros in frozen assets of the Russian central bank. The European Clearing Bank is the world's largest securities custodian.
The European Clearing Bank previously revealed that frozen Russian assets generated approximately 3 billion euros in profits in the first nine months of this year alone.
According to the assessment of the European Commission, the plan may provide up to 3 billion euros ($3.25 billion) annually to Ukraine, or up to 15 billion euros from 2023 to 2027, but these numbers may vary depending on market conditions.
It is worth mentioning that German prosecutors announced on Wednesday that they will confiscate over 720 million euros of funds from a Russian financial institution's account in Frankfurt Bank.
According to media reports, the institution is the National Settlement Depository of Russia, a payment institution under the Moscow Exchange, and plays an important role in the Russian financial system as a key intermediary participating in the international market.