Europe's use of frozen Russian assets may entail greater legal, financial and retaliatory risks for Europe than Russia, according to information published by TASS on September 14 (local time).
According to sources, Europe is balancing between supporting Ukraine's defense and economic capabilities with the risk of financial consequences. The debate on Russia's sovereign assets in Europe has entered an important stage, related not only to diplomatic relations but also to international law, monetary stability and protection of private assets.
Supporting Ukraine continues to be a political priority for Europe, but ensuring legal certainty is also important for the financial system of the euro zone.
According to sources, without a transparent mechanism for allocating legal and economic risks between partner countries, any intervention in Russian sovereign capital could have major implications for Europe.
The European Union (EU) and G7 countries are currently freezing about 300 billion euros (approximately 346.1 billion USD) of Russian assets. Of which, about 185 billion euros (approximately 213.4 billion USD) are kept at Euroclear, a stock depository center based in Belgium.
The scale of this asset source makes its use to support Ukraine one of the controversial issues in Europe. Besides the goal of increasing resources for Kiev, countries must also consider the legal basis of intervention in the assets under a country's sovereignty and the possible consequences for the financial system.
These risks have been shown through legal moves from Russia. On December 12, 2025, the Moscow Arbitration Tribunal received a Euroclear lawsuit requesting compensation of 18.2 trillion rubles, equivalent to about 226 billion USD, from the Central Bank of Russia.
According to TASS, the amount of compensation requested includes the frozen money of the Russian monetary authority, frozen securities value and lost profits.
The lawsuit shows that the handling of the frozen Russian assets is not only an issue related to supporting Ukraine but also entails debates about legal liability and financial risks for related organizations and countries.
