Estonia to draft law to use Russian assets for Ukraine's reconstruction

The Estonian government has supported a proposal to draft legislation for using the frozen assets of individuals linked to Russia’s aggression to rebuild Ukraine, Estonia's Foreign Ministry reported on June 15.

“It is unfair that the taxpayers of democratic countries must pay for the war damage caused by Russia,” Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said. “Ukraine is a victim of Russia’s war and must be compensated by Russia. This is why we are working on a solution that would allow the use of frozen assets, which we have seized with sanctions from Russian citizens and companies, to compensate war damages."

Estonia is the first country in the European Union to start working on a solution for using sanctioned assets to finance Ukraine's reconstruction, Kyiv Independent reports.

Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said it was important to send the message that aggression will not go unpunished and there will be compensation for the damage caused by aggression.

“The existence of such a mechanism raises the cost of the aggression, especially if similar solutions are used by other countries or the European Union,” he said.

The Financial Times reported on May 24 that EU officials were discussing a way to send profits from Russian assets frozen at the Euroclear depository to Ukraine.

In February, an EU working group also said it would be exploring the possibility of utilizing frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine's reconstruction.