Putin will be weakened by Ukraine getting frozen Russian assets — Zelenskyy

He said this on Sunday, February 25, at a press conference following the results of Ukraine. Year 2024 forum.

When asked whether the president was expecting a call from Putin, Zelenskyy replied: "He doesn't have a cell phone, how will he call me, and I don't work with the telegraph of 1917 anymore. He will not call me, he does not want to end this war."

According to him, the world should weaken the enemy army, politically isolate and put pressure on Russia with sanctions, and then it will affect the Russian dictator.

"For him, money is number one, if you listen to his messages, everything is about money, and he ensures the safety of this money, even frozen assets abroad. So I think his weakness is, of course, public opinion, but among businesses that support him or are afraid of him, which is exactly the same thing in Russia today. I believe that this is his weakness," Volodymyr Zelenskyy explains.

He emphasized that the transfer of frozen Russian assets to Ukraine would significantly weaken Putin.

"Even in Europe, there are 300 billion in frozen assets, so if this money is transferred to Ukraine without any conditions, I think it will greatly weaken him. He is not able to protect the business that is around him, his business, the oligarchs, etc. - it's not bloodless, but it will be very accurate, I think. It will weaken him, and then he will call everyone, not just me, he will call everyone and look for ways to end this war," the President of Ukraine summarized.

The latest on the confiscation of Russian assets

On November 30, the US Senate introduced a bill to confiscate Russian assets. On January 11, the Biden administration supported the confiscation of Russian assets for transfer to Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the European Commission has a plan to raise €15 billion from Russia's frozen assets to provide financial assistance to Ukraine.

At the same time, Russia has estimated that the West could lose assets and investments worth at least $288 billion if it confiscates frozen Russian assets to help rebuild Ukraine, and said Moscow would retaliate.

On January 22, reports indicated that the EU foreign ministers were approaching a solution to the issue of how to use the frozen Russian assets.

On January 23, Belgian Ambassador to the United States Jean-Arthur Régibeau said that Western countries should make a collective decision to confiscate frozen Russian assets, most of which are stored in the Brussels-based Euroclear settlement center.

On January 24, a US Senate committee approved a bill to confiscate Russian assets and transfer them to Ukraine.

On January 30, the Political Affairs Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted a draft resolution that provides for the confiscation of frozen Russian assets and their transfer to a new fund for Ukraine's recovery.

Europe holds 191 out of 260 billion euros of Russia's frozen foreign assets, which generated 4.4 billion euros in 2023, and is willing to transfer them to Ukraine.

The G7 countries and the EU are discussing a plan to use the frozen assets of the Russian central bank worth more than USD 250 billion as collateral to finance Ukraine's recovery.

On February 12, the EU Council adopts a decision to regulate the future mechanism for using the proceeds of frozen Russian assets in the EU in favor of Ukraine.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that Western countries should be bolder in confiscating Russian assets that they froze after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.