ByREUTERS
Updated:

The Kremlin said on Thursday that it viewed the European Union's decision to transfer revenue from frozen Russian assets to Ukraine as illegal and a form of theft.

In August, the European Commission said the bloc would give Kyiv $1.6 billion, taken from interest on cash balances, part of Russian central bank assets frozen by the EU because of the war in Ukraine.

Russian service members walk past a destroyed building in the town of Sudzha, which was recently retaken by Russia's armed forces in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in the Kursk region, Russia, in this still image from video released March 15, 2025.
Russian service members walk past a destroyed building in the town of Sudzha, which was recently retaken by Russia's armed forces in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in the Kursk region, Russia, in this still image from video released March 15, 2025. (credit: Russian Defence Ministry/Handout via REUTERS)

Russia pushes to use frozen assets to repair its own war-damaged regions 

Previously, EU leaders said Russian assets, totaling 210 billion euros, will remain frozen until Moscow pays war reparations to Ukraine.

If Moscow ever takes that step, Ukraine could use the funds to repay other loans it owes to the EU.

Russia has previously stated that it could use its frozen assets to help fund reconstruction on its own territory, particularly the Kursk region.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called that idea "nonsense" and added that Kyiv would "fight" to be able to use all frozen Russian assets to fund post-war recovery inside Ukraine.