Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday that Moscow would retaliate if the European Union confiscates Russian assets to compensate Ukraine in light of the war.
Speaking at a press briefing Zakharova said: "We once again warn that if it comes to the real confiscation of the property of the Russian Federation and Russian citizens, enterprises, state reserves of our country, then adequate measures will inevitably follow from the Russian side."
Zakharova's warning followed a proposal made by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to support Ukraine by reusing the already frozen Russian assets. "We will make sure that Russia pays for the devastation it caused, with the frozen funds of oligarchs and assets of its central bank," Von der Leyen noted earlier. Approximately €17.4 billion of Russian assets have been frozen by EU member states since the start of the war in Ukraine on February 24.
