Issue of confiscating $300 bln in Russian assets most important issue for Ukraine today – opinion
The confiscation of $300 billion in frozen Russian assets will give Ukraine the opportunity to win, this is the most important issue for the country today, this opinion was expressed by founder and CEO of Hermitage Capital Management Bill Browder in a discussion at the Ukrainian House on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Browder said that if the money was confiscated and given to the defense of Ukraine, then Ukraine would have a very long runway to continue to defend itself, and the huge economic inequality between Russia and Ukraine would disappear. He added that when people talked about what was the most important thing that could happen for Ukraine at that moment, it was absolutely obvious to him that it was these $300 billion, and that everything else was secondary.
According to him, the West's support from the beginning of the war was critical and useful, but Putin always believed that the West would tire of continuing to finance the war, and to some extent his calculation turned out to be correct, so now, when Putin's economy is hanging on a thread, it is very important to support Ukraine with confiscated Russian funds.
Browder believes that if the $300 billion is not confiscated, then at some point the West will run out of patience and money for Ukraine, and an example of this was the situation last January, when the United States delayed the approval of a $50 billion military aid package, which led to problems on the front.
Browder, who heads the Global Magnitsky Justice campaign and has a 15-year history of confrontation with Putin, emphasized that all the legal difficulties on the way to confiscating these funds pale in comparison to the price that the West will have to pay if Ukraine loses.
According to him, if Trump does not want to give Ukraine American money for military support, then it is necessary to take these $300 billion.
Member of the Board of Directors of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Artem Shevalev noted in the discussion that it is also important to remember that the real amount of damage inflicted by Russia on Ukraine is much greater and, perhaps, it will approach $1 trillion.
"These are huge numbers. Ukraine will need these funds for support. It is absolutely clear that they should not come from Western taxpayers. $300 billion - let's approach this as a done deal. I know that this is not the case, but this will help key decision makers think about how to get more funds from Russia to finance Ukrainian reconstruction and Ukrainian rearmament in the future," Shevalev believes.
In his opinion, it is also necessary to talk about reparation taxes and fees, reparation sanctions and tariffs.
"We need to work together to make sure that after $300 billion, significant funds will come in," the Ukrainian representative to the EBRD emphasized.
Deputy head of the presidential office Iryna Mudra said at the discussion that the issue of confiscating $300 billion of Russian funds is the top priority for Ukraine right now.
According to her, if this step is not taken, the aggressor will understand that it is possible to continue to destroy international law and unity and achieve its goals without paying any price for it.