EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has announced that the EU could seize €300 billion of Russian Central Bank reserves and put it towards rebuilding Ukraine.
Russia Central Bank (Photo: AdobeStock)
Von der Leyen said in a statement, “The damage suffered by Ukraine is estimated at €600 billion. Russia and its oligarchs have to compensate Ukraine for the damage and cover the costs for rebuilding the country.”
She added, “And we have the means to make Russia pay. We have blocked €300 billion of the Russian Central Bank reserves and frozen €19 billion of Russian oligarchs’ money.”
The latest analysis from the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE) on the cost of direct damage to Ukraine’s buildings and infrastructure since the beginning of the Russian military invasion of the country puts the estimate at €121 billion.
Transportation infrastructure took up 27.7% of the damage, with roadways (€25.4 billion) and railroad tracks (€4.1 billion) making up the majority of the €33.8 billion total.
Von der Leyan’s plan is to create a structure to manage the funds and invest them so that the proceeds can be used towards rebuilding the damage caused to Ukraine.
