Russia is preparing to retaliate against the West if they seize its assets in Ukraine, according to Valentina Matviyenko, an ally of President Vladimir Putin. The move comes after the US and its allies banned transactions with Russia’s central bank and finance ministry, freezing roughly $300 billion of Russian assets in the West following Putin’s sending of troops to Ukraine in 2022.
The United States is considering seizing assets to aid Ukraine, but some bankers and European officials are concerned about setting a dangerous precedent. The American House of Representatives passed a law on Saturday with a provision allowing for the seizure of Russian property, even though the majority of Russian assets are in Europe, not the US.
Matviyenko stated that Russia has prepared a bill with retaliatory measures that they are ready to consider immediately. She also emphasized that if European countries seize Russian property, they will lose more than Russia. The details of the Russian response to property seizure are still being discussed in the West.
Putin has characterized the West’s actions as an economic war against Russia, arguing that the Russian economy, which grew by 3.6 percent last year, is resilient to Western sanctions. The Kremlin has reiterated that any seizure of its assets would undermine confidence in the US dollar and the euro, deter global investment, and go against free market principles.
Meanwhile, Vyacheslav Volodin, leader of Russia’s lower house of parliament, has said that Russia has grounds to seize Western assets in response to US legislation. He pointed out that out of $280 billion of Russian assets frozen abroad only $5 to $6 billion are in the US while about $210 billion are in European Union which remains unclear how much money is in foreign investment accounts blocked in Russia.
The situation continues to be closely monitored as both sides prepare for potential escalation.