Estonia to Transfer €38 Million of Frozen Russian Assets to Ukraine

The Estonian government has approved and submitted an amendment to the International Sanctions Act to its parliament, which includes provisions for directing frozen Russian assets towards compensating the damages Ukraine has suffered due to the war.

This development was reported on the official website of the Estonian government.

Estonia's Prime Minister, Kaja Kallas, emphasized the importance of holding Russia accountable for its aggression and ensuring that the losses incurred by Ukraine during the war are appropriately compensated.

"The bill that we, as the government, have sent to the parliament today allows for the use of frozen assets of sanctioned individuals in Estonia to compensate for the losses from the war in Ukraine," said Kallas.

In her view, Estonia should set an example for other European countries in implementing such regulations.

"We hope that the European Union will also expedite its work on using frozen Russian assets and developing practical solutions," she added.

Estonia's Foreign Minister, Margus Tsahkna, believes that applying sanctions to individuals who support military aggression may ultimately influence the political leadership or the people of the aggressor country to adhere to international law.

"It should be acknowledged that any country is a legal entity and is held accountable through its citizens," Tsahkna emphasized. "Seizing assets beyond the homeland of citizens of the aggressor country who have contributed to the aggression is justified. The funds to compensate for the losses inflicted by Russia on Ukraine should not come solely from the taxpayers of other nations," he noted.

At the time of drafting the bill, Estonia had frozen the assets of Russians subject to international sanctions, amounting to approximately 38 million euros.

As previously reported by The Gaze, since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the governments of EU countries and G7 nations have frozen foreign assets of the Central Bank of Russia, totaling around 300 billion euros, as well as the private assets of Russian oligarchs subject to sanctions. It was envisaged that these funds could be directed towards compensating Ukraine for the losses inflicted by Russia, but the mechanism for their transfer is still being developed.