{"id":5954,"date":"2025-12-19T09:07:47","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T09:07:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=5954"},"modified":"2025-12-19T09:07:47","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T09:07:47","slug":"which-countries-besides-russia-have-assets-frozen-by-the-eu-russia-ukraine-war-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=5954","title":{"rendered":"Which countries, besides Russia, have assets frozen by the EU? | Russia-Ukraine war News"},"content":{"rendered":"


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European Union leaders agreed not to use frozen Russian assets to help fund Ukraine\u2019s defence in the ongoing war with Russia early on Friday.<\/p>\n

Instead, 90 billion euros ($106bn) will come from an interest-free loan provided by 23 out of the 27 EU member states. Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic were granted an exemption in order to allow the deal to pass following months of debate and knife-edge discussions on Thursday night.<\/p>\n

It is estimated that Ukraine will require an extra 136bn euros ($159bn) over the next two years, if it is to avoid bankruptcy as soon as April, leading the European Commission to put forth a plan to tap into some of the frozen Russian central bank assets held by the bloc.<\/p>\n

But Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever had refused to sign off on this without \u201cironclad guarantees\u201d that Belgium, where most of the Russian assets are held, would be protected from potential Russian legal retaliation.<\/p>\n

Belgium estimated it could be left owing billions of euros if Moscow successfully sued Euroclear \u2013 a Financial Market Infrastructure (FMI) provider in the Eurozone \u2013 where the funds are held.<\/p>\n

Hungary and Slovakia had also expressed strong opposition to the plan, with Hungary\u2019s Prime Minister Viktor Orban labelling the plan a \u201cdead end\u201d.<\/p>\n

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that using frozen assets to finance Ukraine would be akin to theft.<\/p>\n

\"A
A view of the headquarters of Euroclear in Brussels, Belgium, on October 23, 2025 [Geert Vanden Wijngaert\/AP Photo]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

How would the plan to use Russian assets have worked?<\/h2>\n

Under the plan, the EU would have borrowed from Euroclear \u2013 the Belgian-based clearing house holding more than 40 trillion euros ($47 trillion) of assets \u2013 to provide Ukraine with an initial 90-billion-euro ($106bn) loan. This equates to about two-thirds of Ukraine\u2019s funding requirements until 2027.<\/p>\n

The loan would only have needed to be repaid to the EU if Russia agreed to pay reparations for the war to Ukraine. Losses from the war are estimated at about $524bn in reconstruction costs, according to<\/a> the European Parliament.<\/p>\n

Which countries hold frozen Russian assets?<\/h2>\n

More than 289.5 billion euros ($339.3bn) in Russian assets have been frozen by Western countries since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, with the EU holding 209 billion euros ($247bn) of this. Belgium holds the largest share at 180 billion euros ($210bn).<\/p>\n

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  • Belgium<\/strong> holds 180 billion euros ($210bn)<\/li>\n
  • Japan<\/strong> holds 28 billion euros ($32.8bn)<\/li>\n
  • The UK<\/strong> holds 27 billion euros ($31.6bn)<\/li>\n
  • France<\/strong> holds 19 billion euros ($22.3bn)<\/li>\n
  • Canada<\/strong> holds 15.1 billion euros ($17.7bn)<\/li>\n
  • Luxembourg<\/strong> holds 10 billion euros ($11.7bn)<\/li>\n
  • Switzerland<\/strong> holds 6.2 billion euros ($7.3bn)<\/li>\n
  • The United States<\/strong> holds 4.3 billion euros ($5bn)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Which EU members opposed the plan to use Russian assets?<\/h2>\n

    Besides Belgium, a number of EU members opposed the plan, with Belgium raising concerns that using the frozen assets without strong EU guarantees is \u201cfundamentally wrong\u201d.<\/p>\n

    It warned that Moscow could retaliate by targeting Belgian property in Russia, while Russia-friendly countries could also lodge legal claims against Euroclear.<\/p>\n

    Hungary\u2019s Prime Minister Viktor Orban described the proposal as \u201cstupid\u201d, saying that tapping into Russian assets risked further escalating the conflict in Ukraine.<\/p>\n

    He told reporters: \u201cThere are two countries which are at war \u2013 it\u2019s not European Union, [it\u2019s] Russia and Ukraine \u2013 and the European Union would like to take away the money of one of the warring party and then to give it to another one.<\/p>\n

    \u201cIt\u2019s marching into the war. The Belgian prime minister is right, we should not do that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

    Which countries have assets frozen by Europe?<\/h2>\n

    While Russia is the most prominent non-European country with significant assets frozen in Europe, several other nations outside Europe are also subject to asset freezes under the EU sanctions regimes.<\/p>\n

    While Russia\u2019s situation is unique because the EU has frozen its Sovereign Central Bank reserves, most other countries on this list primarily have assets belonging to government officials, oligarchs or specific state-owned companies frozen, rather than their entire national reserves.<\/p>\n

    According to the European Commission\u2019s sanction tracker, the EU has imposed asset freezes and a prohibition on making funds available in at least 31 countries. Many of the moves are mandated by the United Nations, and then implemented by the EU, while other asset freezes come directly as a result of EU decisions, including those on Venezuela.<\/p>\n

    Explore the table below to find out which other countries have had assets frozen by the EU.<\/p>\n