The decision to fully use Russian assets to defend against Russian aggression is one of the clearest and most morally justified decisions that can be made. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated this while speaking at a meeting of the European Council in Brussels.
The Head of State thanked partners for their attention to and support for Ukraine, which has helped save so many lives since 2022. According to the President, Europe has achieved a great deal over this period, and the Russian leader has failed to break Ukraine.
“Europe has demilitarized Russia’s gas weapon – the continent no longer lets Moscow manipulate it with energy. And this is a historic achievement to my mind– something that just a few years ago seemed almost impossible,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted.
The President emphasized that Russia had hoped Europe would stop supporting Ukraine, would fail to scale up its defense industry, and would face political collapse due to a change in the U.S. administration – but none of this happened.
“The vast majority of Europeans still see Russia as the only one to blame for this war. And sure, some people in Europe still enjoy flying to Moscow. But let’s be honest, most Europeans understand this – selling out moral values and European interests in Moscow will never become the European mainstream. It will always be the business of outsiders – not of real leaders,” the Head of State noted.
The President stressed that Russia must not win this war. The decision to fully use Russian assets to defend against Russian aggression is one of the clearest and most morally justified decisions that can be made.
“Just like authorities confiscate money from drug traffickers and take weapons away from terrorists, Russia’s assets must be used to defend against Russian aggression and to build what was destroyed, exactly, destroyed by Russian attacks. It’s moral. It’s fair. And it’s legal – confirmed by the expertise of many, many professionals,” the Head of State said.
The President stated that if the war does not end through diplomacy in the near future and Russia continues to demonstrate its desire to prolong the war and intensify attacks next year, Ukraine will primarily use these funds for weapons.
“And if, on the other hand, diplomacy does succeed and Russia starts taking real steps to end the war, then the frozen Russian assets should be used for recovery after the aggression. And again, it’s fair that Russia pays the price for what it has destroyed,” the President noted.
The Head of State also emphasized that Russia can continue this war only as long as it has huge amounts of money to send more people to the front and to purchase equipment abroad.
“We know Putin can’t keep attacking and keep social stability in Russia at the same time, and he doesn’t have enough money for both. And we already see signs of this – Russia has started cutting war expenses. And they even reduced the payments for those they send to die,” the President said.
According to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, this clearly proves that Russia must not receive any positive signals regarding this money; otherwise, it would be a misguided policy.
“Let’s not give Putin hope – hope that he can fight for another year or two, and then Europe will reward him for it by giving back 200 billion euros. And if someone wants to invest in more Russian aggression – they should say it openly, not hide behind excuses,” the Head of State emphasized.
According to the President, the European Commission’s proposal on a reparations loan offers a reasonable and fair approach and should become a substantial contribution by the European Union to strengthening Ukraine’s position at the negotiating table.
“If we know – and if Putin knows – that we can stay resilient for at least a few more years, then his reason to drag out this war becomes much weaker. And this is exactly how pressure on the aggressor should work – pressure that brings peace. The aggressor must pay for what was done,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy concluded.
