By KYIV. Dec 15 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Compensation for damage caused by Russian aggression at the expense of the aggressor itself is one of the hardest legal tasks for Ukraine, and receiving income from the frozen assets of the Russian Federation could be the first step on this path and bring in up to $15 billion annually, Deputy Head of the Office of the President Rostyslav Shurma has said.
“The first task is not to obtain the assets themselves, but to receive income from frozen Russian assets. Because the income itself, at today’s level of interest rates in the world, can reach $15 billion annually,” he said at a scientific and practical international conference dedicated to the compensation mechanism at the Institute of International Relations of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.
Shurma said that these receipts could temporarily provide good support for the state budget, financing the economy and citizens while the fight against Russian aggression continues.
The deputy head of the Office of the President explained that this first path of compensation will be legally simpler and, most importantly, Ukraine’s partners are politically ready for it.
“But, of course, our ultimate goal is to obtain all Russian assets, sovereign assets, assets of oligarchs, to compensate for all the losses that the Russian Federation inflicted on our state. And we will actively work on this,” Shurma said.
As reported, the European Commission on December 12 approved a proposal for a legislative act on the use of proceeds from frozen Russian assets to restore Ukraine, which the European Council took note of on December 14.
