Support for Ukraine's recovery at Russian assets expense: PACE unanimously adopts resolution

134 participants of the meeting voted for the resolution, none against, Ukrinform reports.

The document suggests that as the newly established Register of Damages initiates the painstaking task of recording Ukrainian losses for the international claims process, countries that have frozen Russian assets ought to transfer these assets to the international compensation fund. It further proposes the establishment of an international commission to review claims for compensation related to losses documented in the register, aiming for effective procedure implementation.

The international compensation fund is planned to place all Russian assets located in the member states of the Council of Europe and non-member states of the Council of Europe on the principles of transparency, accountability and fairness in the distribution of funds.

The resolution calls for the establishment of an impartial and effective international commission to examine the claims of Ukraine and the affected entities for reparations for the damage caused by Russia’s aggression.

The PACE also encourages joint efforts between member states, international organizations and all relevant stakeholders to accelerate the recovery process and ensure full compensation for the multifaceted damage caused by Russia’s war of aggression.

The International Register of Damage

In May, the Council of Europe summit signed a declaration on the creation of a Register of Damage Caused by the Aggression of the Russian Federation Against Ukraine. 

43 countries and the EU have joined or declared their intention to join the register.

The Register of Damage Caused by the Aggression of the Russian Federation Against Ukraine was established as an intergovernmental cooperation institution that will operate within the Council of Europe but will be based in The Hague. To facilitate the collection of information, the registry will have an office in Ukraine. The registry will be the first component of the future international compensation mechanism. 

According to a study by the Kyiv School of Economics, as of the end of May 2023, Ukraine's housing stock suffered losses of over $54 billion due to Russia's full-scale invasion.

In June, Markiyan Kliuchkovskyi, founder and partner of Asters and a member of the Advisory Board of the Ukrainian Catholic University School of Law, was appointed executive director of the register.

In August 2023, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that Ukraine was collecting data on the damage caused by Russia for the International Register. According to him, this is another step towards creating a compensation mechanism.

On April 2, 2024, the Register of Damage started accepting applications through government Diia portal.