Since the start of Putin’s war of conquest against Ukraine, Russian assets worth about 350 billion US dollars have been frozen in Western countries. The total damage caused by Russian troops to Ukrainian industrial and housing infrastructure is at least 750 billion US dollars. On May 10, it became known that in the United States decided to transfer the assets of the Russian oligarch K. Malofeev — an ardent supporter of the war — to the restoration of Ukraine. It is a model for other countries that have in its disposal arrested or frozen Russian assets. In particular, Cyprus has already imposed sanctions against individuals and legal entities that helped Russian oligarchs circumvent sanctions and transfer money to offshore companies. The bank accounts of over 4,000 Russian citizens were closed. Hundreds of Russian companies in Cyprus were liquidated.
The Russian economy is the main driving force of the war unleashed by Putin. His army has suffered heavy loses, but Russia still has a sufficient manpower that can be set up to be shot. Things are worse with the financing of the army. The war of conquest launched against Ukraine has exposed all the bureaucratic rottenness and corruption that prevails among the Russian political and military elites. But Putin is not ready to back down and plans to wage a protracted war against Ukraine, and then against the West. An unprecedented three-year reform has started in the Russian army. It provides for a significant increase in the personnel of the RF Armed Forces to 1.5 million people and the creation of two new military districts. Putin needs money for this purpose, and it is no coincidence that he demanded from Russian business to donate funds to the army.
All this indicates that depriving Russia of its financial self-sufficiency is a contribution to European security. The frozen Russian assets should be transferred to the restoration of Ukraine. But even if they are 100 % confiscated, this amount is not enough to cover all the damage deliberately caused by the Russians during the hostilities. Quite problematic is the issue of freezing and seizure of Russian financial resources that are in offshore. The terrorist state continues to kill Ukrainians and destroy Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure. The logical response to this should be the transfer of Russian assets as compensation for the crimes committed