Since the start of the Ukraine war nearly a year ago, the European Union has frozen €21.5 billion ($23 billion) in Russian assets, EU Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders announced on Friday.
"We had the opportunity to freeze €21.5 billion of assets from oligarchs and entities on the sanctions list," Reynders told a joint press conference with Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin before a meeting of the Freeze and Seize Task Force.
The first step was to block these assets and the second "is to start a process about confiscation when there is a criminal offense," he said.
European Commission experts are now working on the legal background to seize the assets of those who committed crimes, Reynders added, stressing: "We want to bring to justice all the perpetrators of all types of crimes."
"The second goal is to be sure that Russia will pay for the reconstruction of the destruction caused in Ukraine and also compensation of damage," he said.
Reyders highlighted that it is crucial to set up a "register on damage" and collect information, which is why the EU supported the creation of an international center for the prosecution of crimes of aggression against Ukraine.
For his part, Kostin stressed: "For Ukrainians, it's extremely important to receive compensation not only confiscated from private persons who helped the aggressor, but also the Russian state."
He said 67,000 war crimes have been committed, and none would have happened if Russia had not launched a war on Ukraine last Feb. 24.
"Our people who were wounded, tortured, raped, illegally detained, who lost their property, who were looted by the Russian aggressor, they all need to receive compensation from the funds and the assets of the perpetrator," he added.
The European Commission set up a Freeze and Seize Task Force last March to coordinate measures between EU countries applying sanctions on Russian and Belarusian individuals and companies.
Since the beginning of Russia's war against Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, the EU and its member states have provided €50 billion in direct support to Ukraine, including more than €12 billion in military aid.
