EU Commission President, 4 EU countries oppose transfer of frozen Russian assets to Ukraine

This was reported by Politico, citing sources.

The article states that von der Leyen and the mentioned four European countries oppose the asset transfer due to concerns that it could deter international investors and eliminate a key leverage point for peace negotiations.

"If you were to unfreeze [the assets] and give [them] to Ukraine, you don't have it anymore, and you can't use it as a bargaining chip," explained a European diplomat to Politico, who shares this view.

Meanwhile, other European countries support transferring the frozen Russian assets to Kyiv, including Russia's neighboring Baltic states, Poland, the Czech Republic, and European diplomatic chief Kaja Kallas.

“I don’t take the argument that it’s legally problematic … we need [the] political will to do it,” Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys said in an interview with POLITICO, adding that skeptical capitals “must produce some stronger arguments why we aren’t doing it.”

Currently, €200 billion worth of frozen Russian assets are held within the European Union.

However, Kallas previously acknowledged that the chances of confiscating Russia's assets in the near future remain slim.

"We need to have everybody’s support for this. So far we don't," the EU diplomatic chief explained on February 24.

• Earlier, it was reported that starting in 2025, the EU will provide Ukraine with €1.5 billion monthly from frozen Russian assets.