Estonia Approves Use of Frozen Russian Assets for Ukrainian War Damages

Estonia's parliament has passed a resolution allowing the utilization of frozen Russian assets to compensate for war-related damages in Ukraine, as reported by Reuters.

Last week, European Union ambassadors agreed to allocate profits from Russian central bank assets frozen within the EU to bolster Ukraine's defense. The formal adoption of this decision is expected next week.

"We took a big step towards creating a precedent Europe could follow," Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna remarked.

Two-thirds of the 101-member Estonian parliament endorsed the legislation.

The Estonian law authorizes the use of frozen assets belonging to individuals and entities that contributed to Russia's unlawful actions as an upfront payment for the reparations owed to Ukraine. The parliament clarified that Estonia would need to receive a formal request to access these assets, and the link between the asset owner and illegal activities must be sufficiently substantiated. Asset owners retain the right to challenge the allocation of their assets for Ukraine through Estonian courts.

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Group of Seven (G7) nations froze approximately $300 billion worth of Russian financial assets. Since then, the EU and other G7 countries have deliberated over the utilization of these funds to aid Ukraine.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Tuesday the intention of the United States to leverage its authority to seize Russian assets for the purpose of rebuilding Ukraine, and collaborative efforts with the G7 are underway to facilitate this process.